PLURAL OR SINGULAR NOUNS AND THE FOLLOWING VERBS

Question

Hi everybody,I have questions related to the use of plural nouns and singular nouns and the following verbs.I) After the noun phrase " the role of", Should we use singular or plural nouns?For example, could you please help me by indicate which sentences are correct among sentences below.I would like to make a general statement about teachers' role.(1)Nowadays the role of teachers is very important.(2)Nowadays the role of a teacher is very important.(3)Nowadays the role of the teacher is very important.(4)Nowadays the teachers's role are very important.II) Making general statements about facts.I am told that when making general statements, for countable nouns, we should use plural nouns and following plural verbs. Or, we can use a/an with singular forms to show as an typical of that general statements. For example:Cats normally eat mince.A cat normally eats a mince.I read in a book, it have a subject like this : "Traditional uses of the huarango tree"This subject refers about hungrango trees in general, why don't the author use" huarango trees"If I rewrite like this, is it correct?"Traditional uses of the huarango trees"Many thanks in advance.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

LE HANH 2383I would like to make a general statement about teachers' role.

"Role of" is an expression that retains almost all of its literal meaning. A person plays a role in life almost exactly as an actor plays a role onstage. Your sentences are so fluffy they verge on meaninglessness. There would have to be a good reason to use "role of" and not just say "teachers" ("Teachers are very important nowadays."), and I can't think of one. That means that you have to stick with the literal meaning of "role of" ("The role of teacher is …."), and that does not seem to be what you are driving at. We say that Brad Pitt appears in the role of doctor as a matter of idiom. If you mean something more than "teachers", you have to mean it, like maybe "The role of a teacher in a student's life is like that of a parent." Also, to say that something is important is like saying it is funny—we'll be the judge of that, thank you, and "very" only makes it worse.

LE HANH 2383Cats normally eat mince.

Maybe some lucky cats do, but the ones I know have to be content with mice.

LE HANH 2383A cat normally eats a mince.

"Mince" is not usually countable, so let's make it "mouse": "A cat normally eats a mouse." This sentence does not mean the same as the first one. The first one means that all cats normally eat little rodents. This one means that if a cat is close enough to a mouse to catch and eat it, he will.

LE HANH 2383If I rewrite like this, is it correct?"Traditional uses of the huarango trees"

No. It has to be "Traditional uses of huarango trees". That is taken to mean the same thing as "Traditional uses of the huarango tree", but it is imprecise. You don't mean all the trees, you mean the species of tree know as the huarango. We use "the" that way to mean the general case.

"A wonderful bird is the pelican
His bill can hold more than his belican
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week
But I'm damned if I see how the helican" - Dixon Lanier Merritt

PLURAL OR SINGULAR NOUNS AND THE FOLLOWING VERBS

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