Why do we say "I love cake" but "I love cars"?

Question

Why do some nouns need to be in the plural for that structure to work, while some are ok in the singular? E.g.: I love pizza, I love beef, etc.

I always thought it was a matter of countable x uncountable, but "cakes", for example, is countable.

Answer 1

Often the countable and uncountable versions of an English noun will refer to different things. For example, "hamburger". If you say,

I love hamburger

it means that you enjoy the actual ground meat, in all its various uses. On the other hand,

I love hamburgers

means you like the specific use of ground beef in a hamburger, with the bun, lettuce, pickles, tomato, etc. You can also say:

I love a good hamburger

to refer to the specific object, with the relevant qualifiers.

In a similar way:

I love chicken (the meat)
I love chickens (the animal)

I love television (the programs on television)
I love televisions (the electronic device)

These distinctions seem idiomatic and can only be learned by exposure, memorization, and practice.

However (in general) when a noun's countable form and uncountable form both refer to (more or less) the same thing, it seems you use the uncountable form to refer to the generic or overarching concept, and you use the countable form to refer to specific instances or examples of that thing. With cake:

I love cake (cake in general)
I love the cakes Mary served at her party (those specific cakes)

I love coffee (coffee in general)
I love the coffees from Brazil (the various varieties of coffee from Brazil)

Note also a similar use when talking about wishes or desires:

I'd love some cake.
I'd love a cake.

As with anything in English, there may be exceptions.

Answer 2

The general rule (which I am coming up with as I write) is this:

In referring to a general state of affairs, when nouns are countable and uncountable (pizza, bread, coffee, etc.), the uncountable noun usually will be used. The countable one is used for a specific quantity.

"I love pizza" but "Today I ate three small pizzas".

Love is a splendid thing. I have had three loves in my life.

It's that simple.

Answer 3

Note that "I love cakes" sounds entirely natural to me, though it has a different nuance.

Cake is the uncountable term for the stuff cakes are made of, so saying you love cake implies that you love the stuff cakes are made of. This is what you're likely to say if you're talking about them as food.

Saying you love cakes implies that you love the cakes themselves, as whole things. This suggests that the nature of a cake as an individual item, perhaps the presentation or the associated experience, factors into your enjoyment.

With "I love cars", you're talking about whole cars. Saying "I love car" sounds really odd because cars aren't generally useful or talked about outside of their whole forms. The closest you might find is a mechanic saying "I love car parts".

Answer 4

Incidentally, cake is one of those strange words.

I love cake. → I love pieces of large cake.

I love cakes. → I love whole individually sized cakes.

Individual cakes are rare these days except for cupcakes; but we recall the word because of the stock phrase "selling like hotcakes", where "hotcakes" doesn't mean "hot cakes" anymore but "pancakes".

Answer 5

You're on the right track with thinking of it as countable or uncountable. Consider the following difference:

I love to eat pizza.

I love to eat pizzas.

The first specifies that enjoy eating an uncountable amount of pizza. In this case, it means a portion of a whole.

The second sentence implies that I enjoy consuming multiple pizzas (in one sitting). So in general, you use the plural form when talking about an amount that could be more than one.

Here's another example:

I own a red car.

I love blue cars, too.

I would love to own a blue car.

I would love to own blue cars.

In the first sentence, I am specifying that I own (at least) one red car, so I use the singular.

In the second, I'm talking about every blue car, so I use the plural.

In the third sentence, I want to own one blue car, so I use the singular.

In the last example, I want to own multiple blue cars, so I use the plural.

Answer 6

A piece of cake or pizza can still be enjoyed by the average eater (and it might be the preferred form), while a piece of car is only enjoyable to those with niche interests (car fixing, collecting, crafts, recycling) ...

Answer 7

Interestingly, “I love cupcakes.” uses the countable form. Similar your initial note, I might ask for “some cake” or “a [size-indication] piece of cake.”

So I think what I love naturally uses the same form as what I refer to when I eat it.

Answer 8

Simple version of what has been said - still may be useful.

When a term "xxx" may refer in common use to both a substance or to items made from that substance, then singlar or plural versions may apply eg

• "I like cake" - I like the substance

• "I like cakes" - I like the items

or

• I especially like crottled greep brain. <- the material

• I especially like crottled greep brains. <- the whole brains

When a term "xxx" may refer in common use only to items and not the parts or materials that they are made from then only the singlar version applies eg

• I like aeroplanes

but not

• I like aeroplane

When a term "xxx" (possibly qualified) may refer in common use solely to a material or substance used to form an item then

• only the singular applies when the reference is to xxx as a material

  • I like peach juice
    (and never "peach juices" except in extremely niche situations.)

  • Contrived exception: "Of all the drinks in your collection I liked the various peach juices."

Answer 9

I love cake: when used like this, you're referring to an uncountable amount of cake (or, in this case: the very nature of cake itself). In that sense, you could say: I ate **much** cake because I love cake.

On the other hand, in I love hamburgers, you're referring to a countable number of hamburgers. Analogously to the above, you might say: I ate **many** hamburgers because I love hamburgers.

Answer 10

Excellent question. Think about adding an infinitive into the sentence and it might make more sense:

I love *to eat* cake.
I love *to drive* cars.
I love *to eat* apples.

As to why, I don't have a concrete answer as to why it is. It might come to me though.