Why do we pluralize these words and not others?

Question

Sentence: "Just as usual I'm busy with work, studies and markets"My question: Is there a need to pluralize the words "studies" and "markets" in the sentence? If yes, then please tell me why? And also tell why the word "work" should not be pluralize then? Do any of these words need definite articles?Thanks and regards

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

In the phrase "I'm busy with <noun>" (no article), <noun> can be either an uncountable noun or a plural countable noun.

"work" in the sense you mean it is uncountable, so "I'm busy with work" is correct.

"study" (uncountable) and "studies" (plural countable) are similar in meaning here, and "I'm busy with study" and "I'm busy with studies" both work.

"market" is always countable, so "I'm busy with market" is ungrammatical. "I'm busy with markets" is grammatical though somewhat uncommon. Without further context it is not clear what kind of "markets" you are referring to, or whether there might be a more natural way of saying this.

It is possible to add definite articles to any of these -- "I'm busy with the work / the studies / the markets". In this case you are talking about particular work, studies or markets that have already been mentioned or that the reader or listener is expected to be familiar with. "the markets" is also a set phrase that means "the financial markets".

Joe2012 · Answer

Mr Wordy "market" is always countable, so "I'm busy with market" is ungrammatical. "I'm busy with markets" is grammatical though somewhat uncommon. Without further context it is not clear what kind of "markets" you are referring to, or whether there might be a more natural way of saying this.

I was referring to financial markets.

Mr Wordy It is possible to add definite articles to any of these -- "I'm busy with the work / the studies / the markets". In this case you are talking about particular work, studies or markets that have already been mentioned or that the reader or listener is expected to be familiar with. "the markets" is also a set phrase that means "the financial markets".

No, I was not referring to particular work nor I've mentioned it earlier. It was just a casual reply to a casual question.

Apropos of the "the markets", yes, the listener knows I take interest in financial markets. So I guess I need to use the definite article before it? I learned from somewhere if the noun happens to be plural than you can either use definite article with it or leave it as it is. Is it true? Will this case apply to the noun markets?

Regards

Mr Wordy · Answer

RazerI was referring to financial markets.

RazerApropos of the "the markets", yes, the listener knows I take interest in financial markets. So I guess I need to use definite article before it?

Yes, you should say "I am busy with the markets". In this case, it's easiest to think of "the markets" (= "the financial markets") as a set phrase which always includes the article "the".

RazerI learned somewhere if the noun happens to be plural than you can either use definite article with it or leave it as it is. Is it true?

Well, there are many context-specific issues here, but generally speaking, yes. A plural noun can have no article ("I like cats") or a definite article ("I brought the kids"), but never an indefinite article.

Joe2012 · Answer

Thanks Mr. Wordy your post really helped me. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Why do we pluralize these words and not others?

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