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Fishes, however, usually refers to multiple species of fish, especially in scientific contexts. The Godfather quote is one famous example of the word fishes. Another is the zodiac sign of Pisces, which is sometimes referred to as fishes. You can also say that someone fishes as a hobby, but that’s just a form of the verb “to fish.”
Fish is the verb referring to the act of catching fish, while fishes is the third-person simple present version of the verb. I fish with my mom and dad every weekend. She fishes so often that she’s a natural at casting a line.
"Fish" and "fishes" represent one of those pairs of almost identical words, that can create a lot of confusion not only due to their similitude, but also due to the numerous meanings they have in different contexts.
Fish can be a plural form and singular form and is used when referring to a single group or collection of a specific species of fish. Fishes is a more scientific use when referring to types of fish in a group or collection. You can also conjugate fish to fishes when used as a verb.
In this post, I will explore fish vs. fishes. I will use each word in a sentence to illustrate its proper use. Plus, I will show you a helpful trick to use when deciding which of these words to use in your own writing. When to Use Fish. What does fish mean? Fish can be either a noun or a verb.
“Fish” is the go-to plural form for general use, while “fishes” is reserved for scenarios involving various species, especially in scientific settings. In everyday language, you should opt for the term ‘fish’ as it covers both singular instances and multiple fish of the same species.
Fish and fishes are both acceptable plural forms of fish. Fish is the more commonly used plural and can be used regardless of how many species are present. Fishes tends to be used as a plural when there are more than one species, especially in scientific settings.
"Fishes" is an acceptable plural, but it is rare in everyday language. The word "fishes" is most commonly used by marine biologists to mean "different species of fish." In other words, "fishes" best translates as "different types of fish." I have three fishes in my tank: goldfish, guppies, and neon tetras. (Here, "fishes" means types of fish.
Fish or Fishes: Which One Is Correct? The usual plural form of fish is fish: There are many fish in the pond. I caught several fish yesterday. We have five fish in our fish tank. The older form fishes can be used to refer to two or more species of fish. This form is quite rare and is mostly used in scientific contexts:
The noun “fish” has two different, completely acceptable plurals — “fish” and “fishes” — but “fish” is by far the most common plural. It’s what you usually use to refer to a group or collection of fish. For example, if Squiggly brought home a big bag of goldfish from the pet store, Aardvark might ask, “Do you have a bowl for those fish?