Informations and Advices: How Arabic Plurals Break English
You walk into a job interview in London. The recruiter asks for your references. You confidently say, 'I have three informations about my work.' The room goes quiet. You have just triggered a deep grammatical reflex from your native tongue. In Arabic, almost every noun can take a plural form. You say ma'lumat (information) and immediately think of ma'lumatat (informations). You say mashwara (advice) and hear mashawarat (advices). This habit does not survive in English. English draws a hard line between countable things you can number and mass nouns that act like liquids. You cannot count information. You cannot count advice. You cannot count equipment. This guide will show you exactly where Arabic pluralization crashes into English grammar and how to stop carrying that heavy baggage across the Atlantic.
✗ I have two advices for you.
✓ I have two pieces of advice for you.
Why The Arabic word mashwara (مشورة) is easily pluralized to mashawarat (مشورات). You see a countable structure in your head and try to paste it onto the English word advice, which English treats as a mass noun like water.
Treat advice as a liquid. Use a partitive phrase like 'a piece of' or 'a bit of' to make it countable. Say 'a piece of advice' or 'some advice'.
✗ Please send me the informations.
✓ Please send me the information.
Why The Arabic root m-l-w-t yields ma'luma (معلومة) in the singular and ma'lumat (معلومات) in the plural. Your brain expects an -s or -at ending to mark the plural. English information has no plural form.
Delete the plural marker. If you need to count it, use 'a piece of information' or 'an item of information'.
✗ The company bought new equipments.
✓ The company bought new equipment.
Why Arabic uses a different plural pattern for equipment. You say kura (كُرَة - ball) and get kurran (كرّان) or more commonly, you treat the concept of tools as a pluralizable set. English equipment is a collective mass noun that refuses to take an -s.
Never add -s to equipment. Use 'a piece of equipment' or 'an item of equipment' when you need to specify a number.
✗ He gave me good feedbacks.
✓ He gave me good feedback.
Why The Arabic word for feedback or response is often understood through words like radd (رد) or istijaba (استجابة), which are easily pluralized. You hear a plural concept and slap an -s onto the English word feedback.
Keep feedback singular. It is a mass noun. Say 'some feedback' or 'a piece of feedback'.
✗ I need some luggages.
✓ I need some luggage.
Why In Arabic, the concept of bags or travel gear is pluralized freely. You carry that plural mindset over to the English word luggage, which is strictly uncountable.
Remove the -s. Use 'a piece of luggage' or 'a bag' if you are counting individual items.
✗ We received many progresses.
✓ We received a lot of progress.
Why Arabic allows pluralization of abstract concepts. You see progress as a countable set of improvements and try to make it plural. English progress is a mass noun that describes a continuous state.
Do not pluralize progress. Use 'a lot of progress' or 'much progress'.
Common questions
Can I say 'informations' if there are many different types?
No. English does not allow plurals for information regardless of variety. Use 'many pieces of information' or 'various items of information'.
Why is 'advice' uncountable but 'suggestion' is countable?
This is a lexical difference. Advice is a mass noun in English. Suggestion is a discrete event or object. You cannot change advice to be countable, but you can say 'a suggestion'.
How do I say 'two informations' in English?
You say 'two pieces of information' or 'two items of information'.
Is 'equipment' always uncountable?
Yes. You never say 'equipments'. Use 'a piece of equipment' or 'a tool'.
Keep practising
Sources
- Learner English, Cambridge University Press.
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