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I have made up the sentences below.

(1) I'm very thirsty. Bob, I'm happy you're going to shop at the store over there. I'm not sure what I want to drink.

(a) You can just get me four cups of drink.

(b) You can just get me four cups of drinks.

Some of my non-native friends think "drink" in singular form is correct because it's uncountable. My other friends think "drinks" in plural form is correct. Which one is correct?

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  • A native would just say 'four different drinks'.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented May 23 at 7:12
  • I don't find the scenario very natural. A shop/store would likely sell soft drinks in bottles, unless they have a dispensing machine. Also 'drink' as an uncountable noun can mean 'alcoholic drinks'. Is the person asking for 4 cups of the same drink, or different ones?
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented May 23 at 8:34

1 Answer 1

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The format here is "You [subject] can get[verb] me [indirect object] four cups of drink [direct object]."

Only verbs and subjects have to agree in number. Singular subjects take a singular verb and plural subjects take a plural verb. Objects can be either singular or plural.

You can write:

(a) You can get me four cups of drink.

(b) You can get me four cups of drinks.

(c) You can get me four cups of a drink (any drink).

(b) You can get me four cups of the drink/drinks (the drink that we said/mentioned before).

Hope it helps.

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