caeruleancentaur wrote:
>>"David J. Peterson" <dedalvs@...> wrote:
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>>Not to spark a YAEPT, but it seems to me (just a vague impression)
>>that "fishes" for the plural of "fish" is making a comeback with
>>younger people (12 and below). Perhaps "fish" as a plural will
>>disappear in the future... Though I imagine it'd stick around as
>>a mass noun (e.g., "I'm eating fish").
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>I read somewhere very recently (I apologize that I don't remember
>where-I'm not at home this week) that there is a difference in the
>use of the plurals "fish" and "fishes." "Fish" is used when the
>concept is that of a mass (?) noun: There are many fish in the
>ocean. "Fishes" is used for the count noun: I have three fishes in
>my aquarium.
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You could have three fishes in your aquarium but many more fish.
'fishes' refers to 'types of fish'.