Evidences? (Is evidence countable?)

[Torsten]

Hi, I used to think that the noun evidence is uncountable until I came across the following sentence by Napoleon Hill:

History is filled with evidences that Leadership by Force cannot endure.

So evidently the noun 'evidence' is countable after all. Or is it not?

Thanks,
Torsten
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[HamburgEnglish]

Hi Torston,

I think you will find that actually if we go back on that magical time machine you will find many differences in the use of the English language.

Evidence is singular, however so is water and money. However ... we still have "monies" and "waters"

For instance:

All monies arising from the many different charity activties across the world will now be subject to US tax (smile) whoops! Bush has gone! (ducking and running)

He sailed the many waters of the world looking for his loved one.

Fact is that we also have to appreciate that even the singulars can take different forms and sometimes do not collectively combine into the idea of "one" In this case certain singulars (those normally without plural) then themselves become a plural as a collection of "ones" that are not combinable.

Bye bye

Rob
www.onlineenglish.eu

[Torsten]

Hi Rob,

What do you mean by 'singular'? Of course any countable noun can be singular as well as plural. Are you meaning to say that 'evidence' is uncountable? If so, why would Napoleon Hill use the plural version?
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[HamburgEnglish]

Hi Torston, Let me first modify my original message for clarity ...

[Jamie (K)]

[Torsten]

Hi Jamie,

Thanks a lot for your explanation. What do you make of the 3,6 million web pages that contain the word 'evidences'? Probably wrong usage by foreigners or eccentric usage?
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[Jamie (K)]

Yes.

[AmYankee]

Hi Torsten

Jamie's recommendation that you not use "evidences" is really no different from your own recommendation to learners that they not use "advices". In fact, I believe you have gone so far as to state that "advices" does not even exist. However, "advices" gets nearly 4 million Google results. So, what should learners be told? Is it good advice or bad advice to tell a learner not to use "advices"?

By the way, you might find it interesting that there are 315 million Google results for the word dont (i.e. the contraction of do not, but with no apostrophe). Frightening, isn't it?

As for the word 'sheep', it is indeed countable -- in everyday spoken English as well as in literature. The oddity here is that the singular and plural forms of the word 'sheep' are the same. For example, there is no error in the following sentence, in which a count of 6 sheep is mentioned:

Gabriel Oak, a young farmer, is herding six sheep home from auction when he comes upon a wagon stacked with household goods.
(Source: Far from the Madding Crowd)

And don't forget that some people are said to 'count sheep' as a way of trying to get to sleep.

Take care,
Amy

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ESL teacher, translator, native speaker of American English and author of more than 8000 posts on this site.