Fish is fish in singular and plural also, isn't it?

[Iowtrish]

Hello Kati,
Thank you for your kind wishes. I have indeed been very busy over the Christmas period.
On the 17th December I prepared a traditional English Christmas meal for the group of 8 severly handicapped adults who I help to look after all through the year. Another lady and myself take them out on outings every Saturday afternoon. They thoroughly enjoy visiting my home at Christmas, when I spoil them with lots of treats. I decorate the house in the English way with lots of garlands and an enormous tree. I think one of the loveliest compliments I have ever had, was when one of them, who is completely blind, said to me “Trish, you have the most beautiful Christmas trees I have ever seen”.
On the day after the meal I drove with my eldest son the 1000 kilometres to Cornwall to visit my 97 year old mother, who had suddenly become very ill. We stayed there 5 days and when we left her condition had deteriorated more and she no longer knew us. I am at this moment waiting - and indeed hoping - to receive a phone call from my sister, who has spent the night with her in the hospital, to say that at last she is at peace.
When we returned from England, I was again very busy preparing for our family celebration, which is of course on the 25th December. I have three sons and one daughter and two wonderful young adult granddaughters and we all spend Christmas together, as we all live quite close.
I would be very happy to receive a letter from you. If you like, you can write direct to my email at trishosmond05@googlemail.com.
I look forward to hearing from you and wish you a very happy and healthy New Year.
Best wishes
Trish

I thought of you because I’ve applied your letter. You can see it on these links - below. I was looking for you and I was surprised that for a long time you didn’t write.

english-test.net/forum/sutra … tml#501750
english-test.net/forum/sutra … tml#501749

Can I ask you how you are. I hope well only the Christmas preparation is too consumptive of time. How was your Christmas? Now the New Year comes I wish you a Very Happy New Year, good health and lot of strength.

[img]http://www.english-test.net/forum/user_images/29122012162343.jpg[/img
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[Kati_Svaby]

Dear Trish,

Unfortunately I have only one minute to read your letter, and I was very happy. My husband is ready to leave for shopping. He is a little bit impatient. Today I will answer your letter.

Have a good day:

Kati

[James_M]

@Kati Svaby

Fish or fishes

Hello, Ms. Svaby:

I think that many people follow this “rule”:

1. In everyday life, just use “fish”:

a. Fish is good for your health.
b. We went to the lake and caught 50 fish.
c. Are all the fish in your aquarium goldfish?

2. If you are preparing a report about sealife in, for example, the Antarctic, it would be proper to refer to the “fishes” of that area, i.e., the different kinds of fish.

James

---

I think that if a young man is sad because his girlfriend has left him for another guy, his friends would say, “Don’t worry. There are a lot of fish in the sea. You will soon get another girlfriend, dude!”

[Kati_Svaby]

Hello James,

I already know this rule; because sb. disagreed with this statement -which I copied from the Internet and I had learned very soon after that I began to learn English. - the fish is a noun b[/b].

Then I began to look for. And I found it that the usual plural form of the fish is fish. But I found also can be used when we speak about different kinds of fish chiefly the fish who lives in the sea and only the biologists know their names. We can say different fishes. Many thanks for your letter.

This is the same what Iowtrish sent me :

There are lots of nouns which are normally only used in the singular, but can be used in the plural to show different species or types.
For instance:
A good baker bakes many different breads.
A good coffee shop has many sugars on offer.
Similar sentences [u]can be made with milk, earth, water, food, love - and so on.
I hope this helps to explain.

Hello James, many thanks for your letter.“Several eyes see more.”

I wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR:

Mrs. Svaby

[Kati_Svaby]

Dear Trish,

I wrote my letter that I couldn’t send:

The address “trishosmond05@googlemail.com.” in the “To” field was not recognised. Please make sure that all addresses are properly formed.

Here my letter:

Dear Trish,

We returned home but I couldn’t begin to write my letter to you because I have to cook a quick lunch. I ‘ve made a steamed green peas and fried 2 slices of salmon.

We’ve been also very busy. In Hungary the Christmas begins on 24th eve. Then we were my son’s place. You can here the photos about the Christmas’ diner.

english-test.net/forum/sutra … tml#501498

On 26th December they were at our place. But I didn’t send photos on the Forum because in the evening news I saw that the starving people with their children as they were queued for a bowl of hot soup and some bread. I was deeply ashamed of their misery.

Xxx

I am not lucky with my first letter to you. I was writing the letter and my Skype began to ring and there was a Skype session. There is every Sunday but I believed that today is Saturday. It is very difficult for me because their and my pronunciation also very different from the native speakers.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It is interesting . I am a retired teacher and I used to teach mentally disabled children. I could imagine your group of 8 severely handicapped adults who you help to look after all through the year. Did you take them out on outings every Saturday afternoon? I know how much they could enjoy visiting a real home at Christmas, when we can feel at home and you treated them with lots of treats. Why did you decorated the house in the English way ? They are English or you?

When the blind woman told you :“Trish, you have the most beautiful Christmas trees I have ever seen”.
You know in the college we have to learn how teach, blind,-deaf, physically handicapped and mentally disabled children. I could tell you similar stories to you, but we have time to write to each other about this.
Really I am very interested in the work what you do with them. And of course I would be curious of them personally.
About the blind I got used to using to ‘see’, ‘see you soon’, etc. because they use these words in the same way than us. And I observed that it hurts them if somebody does not dare to use these words. They learned this words in their school, they used it, they could read it in their Braille-written books. It is very difficult for us that we dare use these words in the same way than with other sighted people.

I am very sorry that you have to say that death would be a blessed release for your mother. It was like with my mother I was prepared for her death and her eternal peace.

All the same when 2 o’clock at night the phone rang and my sister told me: “Do you know why I phone to you?” Yes I knew. She told me that she had received a call from the hospital that our mother died. It was incredible and for her the death was a redemption but not for us.

She was 93 year-old. She was a teacher and she taught without interruption till her age of 83 year-old. Everybody liked her .We used to teach in the same school.

Dear Trish, it was very good to talk to you.

Best wishes:
Kati

[Cristina.ro]

@Kati Svaby

Dear Trish,

I wrote my letter that I couldn’t send:

The address “trishosmond05@googlemail.com.” in the “To” field was not recognised. Please make sure that all addresses are properly formed.

Hi Kati,

I think the reason why that email address is not recognised is that you seem to have copied and pasted not only the email address that Trish gave you but also the full stop at the end of Trish’s sentence. (The dot after “com” should not be there.)

[Kati_Svaby]

Hello Christina,

Many thanks !!! You are right.

Regards:

Kati