Sport?

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Richard Fry - 20 Nov 2004 12:59 GMT

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

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the Omrud - 20 Nov 2004 13:19 GMT

Richard Fry typed thus:

> 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?"

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.

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

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Peter Duncanson - 20 Nov 2004 13:54 GMT

>Richard Fry typed thus:
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
>Looks pretty consistent to me.

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):
<quote>
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.
</quote>

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

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Molly Mockford - 20 Nov 2004 16:32 GMT

At 13:54:10 on Sat, 20 Nov 2004, Peter Duncanson
<mail@peterduncanson.net> wrote in
<csiup0pfbkrfjja6i4ng3rjsipdb0olee4@4ax.com>:

>Enjoy analysing the use of sport(s) in the following examples (from a total
>of 170):
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>the English Federation for Disability Sport and the Talented Athlete
>Scholarship Scheme.

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.

>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

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.

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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.)

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Richard Fry - 20 Nov 2004 17:57 GMT

>Soccer, cricket, squash - which of these sports do you prefer?

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:

>Do you like to play sport?

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.

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the Omrud - 20 Nov 2004 18:40 GMT

Richard Fry typed thus:

> >Soccer, cricket, squash - which of these sports do you prefer?
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> general, shouldn't the correct form of the question be "Do you like to play
> sports?"

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?

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David
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Discussion Groups / British English / November 2004

Sport?