Fishes vs。 Fishの違い、意味、例

「Fishes」という言葉は、魚における複数の種を指す時のみ使われるため、fishの複数形はそのままfishと表記するのが一般的です。例えば、5匹の魚は「five fish」ように表現するのが自然です。

I caught a large fish for the first time in my life.

上の例示で、一匹の大きな魚を釣りましたので、単数名詞のfishが使われました。冠詞「a」は、その魚が複数ではなく単数の魚であることを示しています。

We watched the school of fish pass by in awe.

この例では、数匹の魚を目撃したので、複数形のfishで表現しています。「school of fish」の構文は、魚の群集を表す代名詞schoolと複数形の名詞のfishによって成り立っています。

他の動物群集を表す代名詞の場合も、一緒に表現するときに、複数形の名詞を使用する必要があります。例えば、pack of wolves、swarm of bees、aflock of birdsなどがあります。

My uncle and I fish every Saturday at Laguna Beach.

上記の文章では、複数の主語である叔父と私は毎週土曜日に魚を釣ります。主語が複数なので、動詞もfishesではなくfishを使います。

Rodney fishes at the lake by himself to escape his chaotic household.

ほとんどの場合は、上で説明したとおりにfishが複数形の名詞として使われます。しかし、やはりいくつかの例外はあります。

科学的な脈絡として複数の魚種を指す時、fishの代わりにfishesが複数形の名詞として使われることがあります。科学的脈絡でも時々fishが複数形の名詞として使われます。
"Fishes"は、たまに「Pisces」という星座を指す複数名詞として使われます。

しかし、上記のような「fishes」の用法は比較的まれであると言えます。

次は、fishとfishesの使い分けが理解できる例文です。

Mandy fishes with her cousin every summer by their summer cottage in Michigan.
Ken caught the biggest fish I had ever seen with such ease and prowess.
Marty and I tried to fish for salmon in Alaska, but we couldn’t catch a single one.
Is it okay if Travis and I fish at the lake by the mall tomorrow?
A golden fish leapt out of the water, its golden scales sparkling in the sunlight.
Wright said he tried all kinds of different fish around the world, claiming he was “culinarily cultured.”
Minnie has an aquarium of fish in her living room which she shows off to guests.
I saw Mr. Kim fish at 4 AM in the morning when I was on my morning jog.
When Dad fishes, he always takes a camping chair and book with him.
My little sister Melody was excited to see all the different kinds of fish at the aquarium.

I fish/fishes every weekend with my Uncle Rob.
When do the fish/fishes in the tank need to be fed again?
We each dissected a fish/fishes in science class today.
Dale almost grabbed a fish/fishes when he was scuba diving.
Mario fish/fishes with a piece of straw in his mouth because he thinks it makes him look cool.
I asked Janice if she wanted to fish/fishes with us next Thursday.
Kathlyn, Robin, and Ester fish/fishes at the river by the old library every Sunday.
My sister and I shared a fish/fishes because we knew we couldn’t finish one each.
Jake told me he only fish/fishes with budget equipment because he is trying to save up to buy a car.
Aubry tried to learn how to fish/fishes from her boyfriend but gave up in the end.