order or orders

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

dear friend,

For a very long time Ive been wondering whether It should be order or orders, for ex “Harry you should not go there,its an order” “Im writing in anticipating till we wait for your orders”.Tell what is the difference between these two words.
Thank you.
gerald

2

Difference? Plural and singular perhaps? =) Besides “order” may mean both:

  1. “instruction”
    Goods will be sent within 24 hours of receiving your order.
    The government has placed an order for (=asked a company to supply) new weapons.
    Please complete the enclosed order form.

and

2)“a request by a customer”
The captain had to give the order to abandon ship.
I followed your orders to the letter (=I did exactly what you ordered).
She is under strict orders to have a complete rest.

For more detailed information you can check here: ldoceonline.com/dictionary/order_1

3

dear sajan,

Very nice of you of replying to me questions?But there are few things that I still dont understand.For example (2)“a request by a customer”
I followed your orders to the letter (=I did exactly what you ordered).
She is under strict orders to have a complete rest.

Would you kindly tell me why it cannot be “order” instead of “orders”.would it be ok if i write “I followed your order to the letter”?.

4

Dear friend,
Ive got another sentence that baffles me…

Ex1.By order of somebody/on the orders of somebody.

If you look at the first sentence the word order is not followed by an “s” where as in the second sentences there is.Please tell me the difference between these two sentences.
Thanks.
Gerald

5

Here’s an “order” as a “command/instruction” so it doesn’t really matter if you use it singular or plural - the meaning won’t change much. But I suppose there are some situations (as you see above) where plural is usually used. I suggest you should mark those and use them as they are. Since I’m not a native English speaker myself that’s the best solution I can offer. =)

There is no crucial difference in these two examples. It’s just that if you gave only one instruction, singular could be a better choice; if more than one - use plural.