A dog and dogs

To me, the first sounds like the speaker likes a certain dog.
The second sounds like the speaker is a dog lover in general.

It's difficult to think of any situation in which anyone would say A. It's incomplete as it stands.

I like a dog that doesn't bark a lot. = I like the kind of dog that doesn't bark a lot.

I like dogs. = I am a dog lover. = I like all dogs. = I like all kinds of dogs.

CJ

I like dogs. = I am a dog lover. = I like all dogs. = I like all kinds of dogs.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I agree with you on the first part, Jim, it's just not very natural.

You may have gotten a wee bit carried away with what's =, don't you think? I certainly like dogs but I don't like all dogs, nor do I like all kinds of do

Perhaps a wee bit, yes. "I like dogs" = "I like dogs in general" =? "I like most dogs" =? "I like almost all dogs, except the ones I don't like because they bark too much or they bite or they have other unattractive characteristics."

The alternative "I like some dogs" doesn't appeal to me as a paraphrase, however.

Thank you everyone,
your postings are very helpful.

Let me check,
when someone asks me what animal I like,
I should answer, "I like dogs.", meaning I am a dog lover.
Right?

What do you think about this conversation?
A:"What kind of dictionary will you buy?"
B:"An electronic dictionary."
A:" Won't you use printed dictionaies any more?"
B:

"A" can imply that the idea (essence) of "dog" is appealing. It can act to emphasize a certain type of statement, for example: 'I like a dog. A dog provides companionship, devotion, and love.' "B" could be used in a similar way, but would be a general statement about all dogs, while "A" makes a statement that the speaker appreciates or would appreciate having a dog.

I don't see anything glaringly wrong with the conversation. Since it is an informal conversation, incomplete sentences can be acceptable. Your written record of the conversation misspells dictionaries twice (omits the "r"). The last sentence would be better if "as a reading material" were replaced by "as reading material" or "as reading materials" in my opinion. I'm not sure what is meant by

Rolebra wrote:
"A" can imply that the idea (essence) of "dog" is appealing. It can act to emphasize a certain type of statement, for example: 'I like a dog. A dog provides companionship, devotion, and love.' "B" could be used in a similar way, but would be a general statement about all dogs, while "A" makes a statement that the speaker appreciates or would appreciate having a dog.

Your use of singular and plural in the dictionary dialogue is natural, Yoko.

One thing that would make a difference is the number of dictionaries a person is expected to have. Unilinguals often have only one, where students of other languages will have several. This affects A's second question-- whether A says 'a printed dictionary' or 'printed dictionaries'. However, both are equally

JTT: I answered the question originally asked when I responded. I didn't read the question later posted: "What animal(s) do you like?" I apologize for not noting the times and dates, and reading all the posts before I answered.