How much fish is there

«How many. » vs. «How much fish»

What is the correct way to say the following phrase:

Is fish countable or uncountable here? Given the answer in this EL&U question about «vegetables» I lean toward using much.

1 Answer 1

Both «many» and «much» can be used, depending on context.

This is because «fish» can be countable or uncountable, depending on the definition in use. Refer to these definitions (from Oxford Dictionaries):

1 A limbless cold-blooded vertebrate animal with gills and fins living wholly in water:
«the huge lakes are now devoid of fish»

1.1 [mass noun] The flesh of fish as food:
«a dinner of meat, dried fish, and bread»

Note: «Mass noun» means the same as «uncountable noun.»

Your sentences are both correct and are likely to be understood, although #2 («much») does, to me at least, sound a bit odd. They could be interpreted as follows.

How many fish did you catch yesterday?

A question about the number of individual fish caught. You might reply with a number («five»), or you might specify the species of fish caught («two cod and three haddock»).

How much fish did you catch yesterday?

A question about the weight of fish caught, not the number. You might reply with a single weight («three kilos»), or (again) it could be split by species («one kilo of cod and two of haddock»).

The interpretation changes slightly in other contexts, but remains largely the same. Consider the following sentences:

Probably an odd question for large fish, but perfectly reasonable for whitebait or other small fish where multiple are eaten at a time. If a larger fish was involved, you’d be more likely to ask:

A normal answer could be «the whole fish» or «half the fish,» if you were being served a large fish. You wouldn’t ask this for fish like whitebait. You could, technically, specify a weight here, but I would expect it to be much more likely for a fraction of the fish to be given instead.

Of course, if you were being offered more than one large fish, it makes more sense to use «many» because then the question is about multiple discrete fish rather than a quantity of the flesh from one fish.

There are fish

Belanica

Senior Member

Dotop

Member

Belanica

Senior Member

Thomas Tompion

Member Emeritus

This is to evade the issue of when we say six fish and when six fishes, and when less fish rather than fewer fishes.

I don’t doubt that we have plenty of threads on when fish is countable or uncountable, eg. Is «fish» countable?

PaulQ

Senior Member

lingobingo

Senior Member

Fishes is used infrequently as the plural of fish. You might use it when talking to children (Look at the ittle fishes!), or when writing formally on the subject of fish (nutrient requirements of warmwater fishes / other fishes are found in the upper strata of these deposits).

And the most common uncountable use of fish is when it’s being referred to as a type of food.

Belanica

Senior Member

elroy

Moderator: EHL, Arabic, Hebrew, German(-Spanish)

Thomas Tompion

Member Emeritus

Just in case anyone receives the impression that not many people have come across ‘fishes’ in their lives.

Mark 6, 38: 38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

Down in the meadow where there lived a bitty poo
Swam three little fishes and a mama fishie, too
«Swim!» said the mama fishie, «Swim if you can!»
And they swam, and they swam all over the dam. (Well-known children’s song)

lingobingo

Senior Member

elroy

Moderator: EHL, Arabic, Hebrew, German(-Spanish)

Uncle Jack

Senior Member

People I know with aquariums (aquaria? ) often refer to «fishes», and it seems natural to me to refer to «fishes» within an enclosed space like a pond, in a context where you might possibly count them. «Two fishes» sounds a lot more natural to me than «two fish».

Having said that, the original sentence appears to be talking about the existence of fish within the pond, rather than how many there may be, so «There are fish in the pond» sounds better to me than «There are fishes in the pond», which sounds rather childish.

elroy

Moderator: EHL, Arabic, Hebrew, German(-Spanish)

I wonder if “fishes” sounds less unnatural in British English than American English? For me, it’s essentially up there with “sheeps” and “deers,” except that I know “fishes” is an actual word, so it does sound a touch less unnatural than those other ones, but its being a real word has no impact on my usage (read: I don’t use it) and I have no intuition for when it “might sound halfway okay” or anything like that.

Thomas Tompion

Member Emeritus

Here are two of many examples from the British Corpus:

One from conversation:

What was in the water when we went with Popsey and mummy? What was in the water? Fishes. (pause) Was there fishes in the water? D’ ya remember?

One from formal discourse:

Similar kinds of arguments can be applied to different parts of these extraordinary fossils. Internally they are really quite complicated, and some possess lobes and channels incised within the plates strikingly similar to the appearance of the brain and nerves in some fishes. Fossils: the key to the past. Fortey, Richard. London: Natural History Museum Pub, 1991.

PaulQ

Senior Member

One from conversation:
Was [should be «were») there fishes [should be «fish»] in the water? D’ ya remember?

One from formal discourse:

Similar kinds of arguments can be applied to different parts of these extraordinary fossils. Internally they are really quite complicated, and some possess lobes and channels incised within the plates strikingly similar to the appearance of the brain and nerves in some fishes. Fossils: the key to the past. Fortey, Richard. London: Natural History Museum Pub, 1991.

Sometimes ‘fishes’ is justified. In fairness, the first is someone talking to a young child and not typical use.

The second is also atypical: it is a quite technical use as the palaeontologist is mainly concerned with the defining characteristics of various clades of fish. He could have used «fish», but given the formal nature, he didn’t.

The plural of FISH – Fish or Fishes?

What is the plural of Fish?

Do you say fish or fishes?

The plural of fish is almost always …. fish. (No -es at the end)

Some example sentences:

There is even a famous book by Dr. Seuss called One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Note how it is two fish and not two fishes.

When can I use fishes?

Fish is used when we are counting individual fish …. one fish, two fish, three fish… etc.
A number of fish of the same species are called ‘fish.’

However in marine biology / zoology etc., ‘fishes‘ refers to more than one species of fish.
We are talking about entire species and NOT individual fish numbers.

This book talks about the different species of freshwater fish in New Zealand. We use fishes because there is more than one species. We are not counting the number of fish, just the amount of species.

Fish or Fishes?

Imagine you have an small aquarium. In that aquarium there are 6 fish. This means there are total of 6 individual fish. They may be of different types but we are interested in the number of fish and not how many species there are.

If I say there are 6 fishes in my aquarium, it refers to 6 different species of fish. There might by a goldfish, a clownfish and four others including a piranha (ok, maybe not a piranha as it would each the other fish).

However in general everyday English, we would most likely say:

Also, if you have a bucket of fish. There may be more than one type or species of fish in it though you will normally say:

The verb To fish

To fish means to try and catch fish.
If we conjugate the verb in the simple present tense, it becomes…

Fishes is the third person conjugation of the verb To fish in the simple present tense.

Bonus information about Fish

What do you call a group of fish swimming together in the same direction?
A group of fish swimming together is called a school of fish. We don’t say a “group of fish.”

Something is fishy
Something is fishy means that something appears suspicious and not right. (Informal)

Did you know there are other words that don’t change in plural form?

In Summary

Unless you are a marine biologist, you will always use fish as the plural of fish.

Продукты, еда на английском языке

На этой странице приведены основные слова по теме «Еда на английском языке». В подборку вошли названия основных продуктов, напитков, также названия приемов пищи, посуды и столовых приборов. В комментариях ниже даны пояснения по некоторым трудным моментам.

Еда, продукты на английском языке

Примеры:

В примерах приведены не все возможные значения слов, а только одно-два основных, относящихся к данной части речи и теме. Если вы хотите узнать больше значений и примеров, воспользуйтесь онлайн-словарями и переводчиками.

We have enough food for the winter. – У нас достаточно еды на зиму.

I was making breakfast when the fire alarm gone off. – Я готовил завтрак, когда сработала пожарная сигнализация.

Today we are having dinner with my girlfriend’s family. – Сегодня мы ужинаем с семьей моей девушки.

John is not here, he’s gone for lunch. – Джона здесь нет, он ушел на обед.

What do you usually have for supper? – Что у вас обычно на ужин?

Most people take three meals a day. – Большинство людей питается трижды в день.

I don’t know how to make this meal. – Я не знаю, как готовить это блюдо.

Take any drink from the bar. – Возьми любой напиток из бара.

Alcohol free vodka. – Безалкогольная водка.

The animals are drinking water from the river. – Животные пьют воду из ручья.

I used to drink a cup of coffee every morning. – Раньше я пил чашку кофе каждое утро.

We ran out of tea and sugar. – У нас закончился чай и сахар.

A bottle of wine. – Бутылка вина.

I had a glass of apple juice and a slice of bread for breakfast. – У меня на завтрак был кусочек хлеба и стакан апельсинового сока.

My kids like cereal with milk and honey. – Мои дети любят хлопья с молоком и медом.

I order fresh bread from the local bakery. – Я заказываю свежий хлеб из местной пекарни.

Fruit and vegetables are essential for a healthy diet. – Фрукты и овощи важны для здоровой диеты.

I’ve bought some canned fruit. – Я купил консервированных фруктов.

There is not much fish in this river. – В этой реке не много рыбы.

Add a drop of oil to the salad. – Добавьте каплю растительного масла в салат.

Peanut butter. – Арахисовое масло.

Your teacher said that you were eating snacks at the lesson. – Твоя учительница сказала, что ты ел снэки на уроке.

Do grown-ups eat candies? – Едят ли взрослые конфеты?

The bakery produced bread, cakes and pastry. – В пекарне делали хлеб, торты и выпечку.

She is on a diet. – Она на диете.

Don’t forget to put the ice-cream back to the fridge. – Не забудь поставить мороженое обратно в холодильник.

He picked a piece of bread with the fork. – Он подцепил кусочек хлеба вилкой.

A teaspoon of this medicine is enough. – Чайной ложки этого лекарства достаточно.

Fill up the glasses. – Наполните стаканы.

Would you like to grab a cup of coffee sometime? – Не хочешь как-нибудь взять по чашечке кофе?

I’d like to order a mug with a funny print. – Я бы хотел заказать кружку со смешным рисунком.

He has eaten a plate of fish. – Он съел тарелку рыбы.

Приемы пищи на английском языке: breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper

Пройдите тест на уровень английского:

Breakfast — это всегда завтрак, в любом регионе любой страны. Lunch — ланч, обед, то есть дневной прием пищи. Dinner — может быть как обедом, так и ужином. Также dinner — это официальные обеды, которые могут проходить и днем, и вечером. Supper — как правило, ужин. Очень редко под supper могут понимать обед.

Разница между fruit и fruits

Особенность слова fruit в том, что оно в отличие от русского «фрукт\фрукты» используется в основном как неисчисляемое существительное. У существительного fruit в английском языке два основных значения:

1. Фрукты как род пищи, то есть собирательное название для всех фруктов вообще. В этом случае слово используется в форме единственного числа fruit (хотя на русский переводится как «фрукты») без артикля.

We have fresh vegetables and canned fruit. — У нас есть свежие овощи и консервированные фрукты. Do you eat fruit? — Вы едите фрукты? Don’t let Sammy have any fast food. If he’s hungry, give him fruit. — Не давай Сэмми фастфуд. Если проголодается, дай ему фруктов.

2. Различные виды фруктов. Слово используется в форме множественного числа fruits без артикля.

What fruits are good for breakfast? — Какие фрукты хороши на завтрак? Some fruits are toxic to dogs. — Некоторые фрукты токсичны для собак.

Если же нужно сказать об одном фрукте, то есть об одном плоде (например, одно яблоко), то обычно либо называют фрукт «по имени», либо используют выражения: some fruit, a piece of fruit.

Sammy ate an apple. — Сэмми съел яблоко. Sammy ate some fruit. — Сэмми съел фрукт. Sammy ate a piece of fruit. — Сэмми съел фрукт (не кусок фрукта). He always has a piece of fruit with his breakfast. — У него всегда есть фрукт (один плод) на завтрак.

Примечание: в ботанике слова a fruit — fruits могут использоваться для обозначения плода\плодов растений. Но это в научных текстах.

3. The friuts of something — плоды чего-то (в переносном смысле)

The fruits of your labor. — Плоды твоего труда. The fruits of learning. — Плоды учения.

Разница между fish и fishes

Похожая трудность со словами fish / fishes.

1. Fish в значении «рыба», то есть одна отдельно взятая рыбина, исчисляемо и может использоваться в единственном и множественном числе, но при этом не меняя форму. То есть в единственном — fish, во множественном — fish.

A fish called Wanda. — Рыбка по имени Ванда. How to catch a fish. — Как поймать рыбу. How many fish did you catch? — Сколько рыбы ты поймал? (множественное число)

2. Если мы говорим о различных видах рыб, то это fishes (как fruits — различные виды фруктов).

Ichthyology is the study of fishes. — Ихтиология — это наука о рыбах (о видах рыб). There are a lot fishes in the sea. — В море много видов рыб (речь идет не о кол-ве рыб, а о кол-ве видов рыб).

3. Если мы говорим о рыбе обобщенно как о виде продуктов питания, используется форма единственного числа fish. В данном случае это слово используется как неисчисляемое, соответственно без артикля.

Do you eat fish? — Вы едите рыбу? Fish is good for your health. — Рыба полезна для вашего здоровья.

Разница между drink и beverage

Это синонимы. Оба слова значат «напиток» — как безалкогольный, так и алкогольный. Разница в том, что существительное drink употребительно в повседневной речи, а beverage — это несколько более строгий вариант. Например:

How Many Fish Live in the Ocean?

The fish population is one that is very difficult to estimate.

How many Fish Live in the Ocean?

The best estimates by scientists place the number of fish in the ocean at 3,500,000,000,000. Counting the number of fish is a daunting and near-impossible task. The number is also constantly changing due to factors such as predation, fishing, reproduction, and environmental state. About 18,000 fish species have been identified as currently living in the ocean alongside thousands of other sea creatures.

Methods Used to Count Fish

Scientists employ different methods to count fish. The most common include submarines, satellites, drones, and GPS sensors placed on the creatures. Divers come in handy when performing a fish census as they can be able to go underwater and observe and even take pictures of what they see. Scientists also collect data from fishers plying a particular region to be able to estimate the number of a particular species. Scientists have been working to develop new efficient methods to count fish such as the use of Artificial Intelligence. The data collected is fed into a computerized system for easier analysis. It is from this data that estimates along with other information are deduced.

Layers of the Ocean

Researchers have divided the ocean into five primary layers.

Importance of Counting Fish

Taking stock of the number of fish in the ocean is an essential task. It is important to determine the amount of fish available so that it can be estimated how many of them can be taken out for the population to remain sustainable. The records portray whether fishery management goals implemented are efficient and shed light on the fishery trends. The information empowers fishery communities as well as the government to make informed decisions regarding ocean resources. Legal limits placed on fishing, including size and fishing gear restrictions, are intended to preserve fish populations. Counting fish also shows the extent to which certain environmental changes such as the invasion of alien species has affected existing fish populations.

Environmental Issues in Oceans

Overfishing is ranked as one of the major problems affecting fish species, especially when combined with inefficient fishing practices. Overfishing translates to a disruption in the marine ecosystem, and has caused some fish species to be classified as significantly depleted or over-depleted. As more coastal development is undertaken, pollution, and degradation of aquatic habitats are increasing. The ocean has become a dumping site for materials used by humans. Other marine concerns include climate change and invasive species.