Can 'medicines' be used the same as 'medicine'? When someone places two subscriptions, did they buy medicine or medicines?
1 Answer
Not really. The issue is often whether you can or cannot count the thing, or to put it differently, whether the usage is a generic one (he took medicine) or a reference to differences (he took various kinds of medicines for his condition). The first is general (he was taking something unspecified), the second is specific (it distinguishes one kind of medicine from another). The form your question is in does not make it possible to tell which you mean: two subscriptions for the same thing (medicine) or two subscriptions for different things (medicines)? As a US English speaker, I would probably say 'medication/medications', though...
