So someone asked me if it's possible to say "the cheeses" and I honestly wasn't sure... Of course I know I'd say "I love cheese" just like I'd say "I love apples" - eg. the plural of 'cheese' here is simply 'cheese'. But what about in the context of, say, "I went into a cheese shop and there was a variety of cheese"? Would saying "cheeses" be correct? Somehow in my head I seem to think you can do both, except I'm not 100% sure. OED says plural of "cheese" is just "cheese" but I'm almost certain the word "cheeses" exists!?
I've just done a quick search. Some dictionaries certainly list cheeses as the plural of cheese. This site implies cheeses can be used when you're talking about more than one type of cheese. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/nouns/common-problems-countuncount-nouns
I'd probably use "cheeses" in a case like "I bought two cheeses", though I must say that it sounds terrible. In the cases of "I love cheese" and "I went into a cheese shop" I find 'cheese' to be more of a material rather than an object, so I would say it the same way I say "I love gold" or "Five types of chocolate".
I bought several cheeses is perfectly correct. However, it sounds funny because it's not the way we usually describe this action. You'd be more likely to say I bought several kinds of cheese, wouldn't you? Or I bought three rounds/packages/packets of cheddar, if you're buying several of the same kind.
Cheeses. No contest. Cheese with an 's' to denote the plural. The cheeses of France. Or the middle-eastern prophet with his cheese shop: Cheeses of Nazareth. I'll get me coat.
In this context, I would understand you to mean "how many different types of cheese are there" as opposed to "how many blocks of cheese are there". Eg. you're not asking if there're 5 blocks of cheese, but you're asking whether it's brie, cheddar, goat's cheese, blue cheese, goule etc on the plate. Awesome, so cheeses it is. However, despite being correct to use "cheeses", is it better to say, "There were many cheeses to choose from in Germany" or rather to say, "There were many different types of cheese to choose from in Germany"? Or do they both sound equally normal/correct and therefore there's no difference really?
I think that they're both correct, but that in the dialect that I grew up with (United States, mid-to-late twentieth century, a little south of the Midwest) "types of cheese" would be more normal.
in the context of, say, "I went into a cheese shop and there was a variety of cheese"? Would saying "cheeses" be correct? Ask John Cleese?
Variety of cheeses. Myriad of cheeses. Choice of cheeses. Lots of different cheeses. A cheese for every occasion. A cheese to suit your taste. Cheeses from all over the world. Cheese from all over the world.
