English Question: "they sell many waters"???

Question

One Japanese guy told me,
In the US, for example, "They sell many waters" or "There are a lot of waters in that shop" is quite common, even though 'water' itself is an uncountable noun. He insisted that, as long as it is clearnly understood 'water' there means 'a bottle of water', 'many waters' will automatically mean 'many bottles of water', which I strongly doubt. (I am Japanese too, but living in the Philippines)

Using 'many waters' for 'many bottles of water' is so common?? If so, where and in what situation?

Answer 1

There are a lot of reasons "They sell many waters" is not a common expression in the US. Not least is that most people don't buy bottled water. Many people do buy cups of coffee, so "the restaurant sells many coffees" would be more common.

Next, I would not at all understand "many waters" to mean "many bottles of water", but only "many varieties of water" (presumably in bottles). If I meant "they sell many bottles of water" I'd say "They sell a lot of water" (and people can understand that it must be in bottles). I think it has to do with the fact that water (unlike coffee) occurs in so many different "sizes" (from oceans to raindrops) and is used for so many different things that it just doesn't seem pluralizable the way "coffee" or "sugar" or "milk" can. (Except as noted above, in the case of "many waters" meaning many "bodies" of water--lakes in particular.)

If I meant "many varieties of water" I STILL wouldn't say "many waters" but perhaps "a lot of different waters". I think even with "waters" plural, the essential uncountability of water makes "many" sound just wrong. "A lot of" can go with countable and non-countable nouns so it's better.

Another thing I might say would be "Should I buy many small waters or a few big ones?" Maybe having "small" as a buffer makes the "many waters" phrase sound less odd.

But really, no I don't think any native speaker would say "they sell many waters."

Answer 2

Your Japanese friend is all wrong. Your suspicion is right; water is an uncountable noun and must not be followed by an "s". There are two exceptions, however, according to Webster.
1) Waters: when it refers to the waters under the sovereign jurisdiction of a nation or state including both marginal sea and inland waters.
2) Bag of waters: the double-walled fluid-filled sac that encloses and protects the fetus in the womb and that breaks releasing its fluid during the birth process

Answer 3

I'm an American, and I've never heard of anyone saying "many waters" for "many bottles of water." For that matter, I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone say "many bottles of water" either. That phrase in the vernacular (common usage) would be more along the lines of "lots/ a lot of water bottles."

"We're bringing a lot of water bottles when we go hiking so that we won't get dehydrated."

If you said "many waters" to someone and meant a lot of water bottles, they would probably be able to puzzle out your meaning. But it wouldn't be automatic. Water doesn't mean a bottle of water, it means the liquid itself. :)

Answer 4

It isn't common; I've never heard it said that way before. I have heard people call a bottle of water "a water," though...so maybe some people do speak this way. It's definitely better to say "bottles of water."

Answer 5

No, we say "bottles of water." However, if your friend frequently said "many waters" and pointed out the bottles as he said it, his American friends probably shrugged it off, since they understood what he was talking about (by pointing out the bottles). I have friends who speak broken English, and if I understand what they are trying to say, I won't nitpick and "correct" their English.

Likely, your friend was never corrected and so he thought this was common. Really, though, we say either "water bottles" or, more commonly, "bottles of water."

**EDIT** oops, and bottled water.. as in, I need to go and buy SOME more bottled water.

Answer 6

There are a lot of waters in that shop...sounds very awkward and unclear. They sell many types of water in that shop...sounds much better and is clearer..unless otherwise specified it probably is correct to assume that it implies bottles of water. BUT I am Canadian and not US..but I have never heard that in "US English" either.

Answer 7

Out of everybody so far, tentofield is correct. "Many waters" could refer to many differents brands of bottled water. It could also refer to many "kinds" of water -such as flavors or colors. Then it could also refer to many bodies of water, such as lakes.
This is similar to speaking of "much" food or "many" foods. This is also where lots of people get tripped up on "fish." Plural of fish is fish, but if you are talking about different varieties or species, then you'd be talking about various fishes!

Answer 8

If the shop sold different varieties of bottled water, it would be perfectly correct to say it sold "many waters" just as you would say that a shop with different varieties of beer or wine sold "many beers" or "many wines".

Answer 9

Nope, he's wrong. Never would one say "many waters."