Usage of singular noun as a concept for generalization [duplicate]

Question

I have recently come across two sentences that feature the usage of singular nouns to generalise the statement as they follow.

"The presence of the gene predisposes a person to heart disease"

"Phrasal verbs simplify and enliven language in a very flexible way"

In the first sentence, according to GPT, heart disease is singular to deliver that the gene can make anyone vulnerable to any kind of heart disease. At the same time, instead of saying heart diseases, the use of the singluar noun gives an impression that the sentence is not going to talk about what specific heart diseases the gene triggers in its following sentences.

Pretty much the same, in the second example, GPT says language is singular to encompass various concepts related to the use of language such as grammar structure, ways to express etc, whereas using the plural form would indicate that the following is going to talk about how pharal verbs can be used in different languages.

Thank you for reading so far, and I would like to ask if what I stated above is correct. And also, GPT says the usage of language as a singular noun indicates that the feature of phrasal verbs are applicable to all languages "without specifying any particular one". But all the grammar books I have studied said, for generalisation, you need plural nouns to speak about all types of something. Where should I think the line is drawn bewteen the use of a singular noun and the use of a pluarl noun for generalisation? Or is it just the nuance that you are not expected to see further examples of something when the noun is in singular?

Thank you very much

Answer 1

Many nouns can be both countable and uncountable. The uncountable is used for general concepts and the countable form is used for specific examples.

Note that using uncountable doesn't necessarily mean "specific examples" or "all" of a category. Consider the following examples:

• "Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the elderly" - the category of something wrong with the functioning of the heart
• "Irredentism often leads to war" - this does not mean a specific war or all wars
• "I had fruit for dessert" - does not mean one or all types of fruit

There are several unwarranted claims that GPT has presented to you as fact.

In the first sentence, according to GPT, heart disease is singular to deliver that the gene can make anyone vulnerable to any kind of heart disease.

It is not implied that it is any kind, just some number. It is used to refer to the category of disease which can be useful in many contexts.

the use of the singular noun gives an impression that the sentence is not going to talk about what specific heart diseases the gene triggers in its following sentences.

This is not at all apparent from using an uncountable noun. There is no such rule.

language is singular to encompass various concepts related to the use of language such as grammar structure, ways to express etc

The uncountable form is used to refer to the concept of language as a system of communication. The random list of specific language features is unhelpful.

using the plural form would indicate that the following is going to talk about how phrasal verbs can be used in different languages

There is no such implication or expectation.

the usage of language as a singular noun indicates that the feature of phrasal verbs are applicable to all languages "without specifying any particular one"

Not all, just some unspecified number or the concept of language in general.

These very specific claims that GPT has produced do not actually represent any knowledge that the system has. They are all just the statistically likely follow-ups to the start of the sentences. This is an example of how generative language models present unwarranted claims confidently with no way for the user to check anything. It is not a good idea to use a text generator for learning.

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But all the grammar books I have studied said, for generalisation, you need plural nouns to speak about all types of something.

There are words which act as generalisations in plural like "cars" and "computers" and there are words which are singular when referring to categories and groups such as "fruit" and "war".

Where should I think the line is drawn between the use of a singular noun and the use of a plural noun for generalisation?

You cannot always find a logical rule that covers all cases in a naturally occurring system like language. You shouldn't seek to draw a line but to know enough examples.