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Examples:

(1)Fixing a car is a challenge.

(2)Fixing cars is a challenge.

(3)Learning a language is hard.

(4)Learning languages is hard.

How I understand the examples:

(1) and (3) are called "Indefinite Generic", and (2) and (4) are called "Plural Generic", I believe.

I think Indefinite Generic and Plural Generic are used for talking about something in a general tone.

Questions:

Question 1:

Do examples (1) and (3) imply the meaning that fixing "just one car" or learning "just one language" is a challenge or is hard and put little emphasis to cases where there are more than one car or one language?

In other words, do they imply the meaning: "Fixing just one car or learning just one language is hard, but if there are many, I am not sure."?

Does it depend on the context?

Question 2:

Do examples (2) and (4) imply the meaning that fixing "more than one car" or learning "more than one language" is a challenge or is hard and put little emphasis to cases where only one car or one language is there for fix or learning?

In other words, do they imply the meaning: "Fixing more than one car or learning more than one language is hard, but if there is only one, I am not sure."?

Does it depend on the context?

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  • Without additional information, you can't distinguish the difficulty level of one or more than one. For example, if fixing one car is a challenge, there is no reason to believe fixing two would be any different.
    – user3169
    Commented Jun 23, 2015 at 19:24
  • Particularly if they're two different cars with completely different systems.
    – Catija
    Commented Jun 23, 2015 at 21:08
  • 1
    Generic noun phrases can be singular or plural, with slightly different meanings.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Jun 23, 2015 at 23:25
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    Does this answer your question? What is an article used for?
    – Davo
    Commented Aug 12, 2020 at 20:41
  • Five years have passed. Such a time. Anyway, what I was asking is whether a Plural Generic and an Indefinite Generic can have a slightly different meaning. For example, can (1) and (2) have different meanings?
    – VinceL
    Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 2:57

1 Answer 1

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In these examples and in many contexts, the meaning is the same, regardless of whether you use the indefinite generic or the plural generic. As noted in the comments, if fixing one car or learning one language is hard, then it logically can be assumed that fixing multiple cars or learning multiple languages are also hard. Both of these phrasings are natural, common, and seen as interchangeable for the examples you provided.

Non-Interchangeable Usage

There are some instances where the indefinite generic and the plural generic are not equivalent. The examples coming to my mind are all instances where one of them does not work / make sense in the context, such that only one way of saying the sentence is valid. An example of this can be seen in this commented source:

Tigers are in danger of becoming extinct.
A tiger is in danger of becoming extinct.

As the source notes, the second sentence - the indefinite generic - is invalid, since extinction is not something that happens to individual members of a species. So in this case, the indefinite and plural generics are not interchangeable.

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