people和cattle同样是集合名词,为什么三个人可以说成three people,而三头牛不能说出three cattle?
表示“牲畜”(在美国英语只指牛类),是一个表示复数意义的集体名词(但不能有复数词尾-s)。如:
The cattle are grazing. 牛在吃草。
Many cattle died in the drought. 许多牛在旱灾时死了。
2. 如何表示牛的头数
要表示“牛”的头数,可借助 head(头)这个词。如:ten head of cattle(10头牛),forty head of cattle(40头牛)等,这些表达中的 head of 也可省略,即可说 ten cattle, forty cattle等,但是我们通常不说 one cattle, 而应说成 one head of cattle, 因为cattle 是一个表复数意义的集合名词。同时应注意:以上各例中的head(头)是一个单复数同形的名词,所以没用 heads 这样的形式。
cattle原意是“财产”,其后转义为“家畜”,常指菜牛或奶牛。在英国通常统指“家畜”,在美国则只指“牛类”。
cattle以单数形式出现,却表示复数的概念。cattle是集合名词,不能加不定冠词a,词尾也不可加s,常和many, few, these, those等连用。用作主语时,句子的谓语动词多用复数。
表示“一头牛”可说one head of cattle,“五头牛”说five head of cattle,在指多头牛时head of也可省去。表示“一群牛”应该用a herd of cattle或herds of cattle。
所以 three cattle是可以的
我要知道为什么??还有,为什么head没加s?
追答There is no singular form for "cattle", and the words for the particular types of cattle are used: "bull", "calf" etc.
There are five cows and a calf in that herd of cattle.
Where the type is unknown, "cow" is often used (although properly a cow is only an adult female).
Is that a cow in the road?
When used as an uncountable noun, the phrase "head of cattle" is used for countable quantities of cattle.
He sold 50 head of cattle last year.
However, "cattle" is often used as an ordinary plural rather than as as an uncountable noun.
I have fifteen cattle.
In some circumstances the uncountable form is not used.
How many cattle? (not how much cattle?).
维基字典的解释。