Sport?

Question

Soccer is a sport, cricket is a sport, etc. So then why does UK English refer to a collection of these activities in the singular tense? Why not "sports?"s/ Curious in the US

Usenet · Accepted Answer

Richard Fry typed thus:
[nq:1]Soccer is a sport, cricket is a sport, etc. So then why does UK English refer to a collection of these activities in the singular tense? Why not "sports?"[/nq]
But it doesn't. I play five sports. Many sports are available at the school. Which of these three sports do you prefer? All of these are normal UK English.
Let's try a parallel with "food".
Apples, sausage, pizza - which of these foods do you prefer? Soccer, cricket, squash - which of these sports do you prefer?

Do you like to eat food?
Do you like to play sport?
Looks pretty consistent to me.

David
==
replace the first component of address
with the definite article.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Richard Fry typed thus:[/nq]
[nq:2]Soccer is a sport, cricket is a sport, etc. So ... of these activities in the singular tense? Why not "sports?"[/nq]
[nq:1]But it doesn't. I play five sports. Many sports are available at the school. Which of these three sports do ... do you prefer? Do you like to eat food? Do you like to play sport? Looks pretty consistent to me.[/nq]
Just for fun (as a sport?) I searched a UK government web portal for "sport".
Enjoy analysing the use of sport(s) in the following examples (from a total of 170):

Sports and disability
Sport for disabled people and the information about funding, Sport England, the English Federation for Disability Sport and the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme.
Sport and fitness
Everyone can enjoy sport without having to compete, and there is a wide range of locally-based activities which people of any fitness level can do. Regular sport and being more physically active offer a wide range of health-related benefits, can make you feel more energetic and better about yourself, and, of course, can provide a great deal of enjoyment.
School sport flexes its muscles
Schools playing fields are being redeveloped with new sports facilities and an initiative to get more pupils into sport is succeeding, according to figures out today
Finding out about local sports facilities
Finding out about disabled sport and the types of initiatives, charities and organisations available locally to support disabled people.

Peter Duncanson
UK
(posting from u.c.l.e)

Usenet · Answer

At 13:54:10 on Sat, 20 Nov 2004, Peter Duncanson
(Email Removed) wrote in
(Email Removed):
[nq:1]Enjoy analysing the use of sport(s) in the following examples (from a total of 170): Sports and disability Sport for disabled people and the information about funding, Sport England, the English Federation for Disability Sport and the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme.[/nq]
If I read "sports for disabled people" I would think they were talking about sports in which only disabled people participated. "Sport for disabled people" sounds much more inclusive. But perhaps that's only me.
[nq:1]School sport flexes its muscles Schools playing fields are being redeveloped with new sports facilities and an initiative to get more pupils into sport is succeeding, according to figures out today[/nq]
I see a distinction here between "sport" - the whole range of possible activities - and "sports facilities", which implies facilities for a certain, undefined, limited range of sports. Schools are likely to offer football, and therefore make sure they have the facilities for it, and unlikely to offer archery, providing no facilities for it. But some schools will offer archery, and some may not offer football. The wording allows for this.

Molly Mockford
I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be! (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Soccer, cricket, squash - which of these sports do you prefer?[/nq]
The use of "sports" is correct in your post above, because sport is a singular noun. If one needs to refer to two or more of them collectively, the plural form "sports" is required.
then "the Omrud" wrote as valid usage:
[nq:1]Do you like to play sport?[/nq]
Using the singular form "sport" in the 2nd quote above should leave the hearer/reader wondering about which sport the speaker/writer was referring to. If the goal is to learn if another person likes to play sports in general, shouldn't the correct form of the question be "Do you like to play sports?"
This is the conventional understanding and use in the US, at least.

Usenet · Answer

Richard Fry typed thus:

No, our usage is different, including your comment above which in the UK would be to learn if another person likes to play sport in general. "sports" here strongly reinforces the separate and plural aspect of the word.
Who's going to bring up apples and baskets?

David
==
replace the first component of address
with the definite article.

Sport?

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