When is the word "Schedule" singular or plural?

[Kengo]

Hello people,

As in the title, I sometimes feel uncertain which I should say "schedule" or "schedules".

For example:
1. Let me know your schedule for tomorrow.
2. Let me know your schedules for tomorrow.

Both these sentenses grammatically sound right to me but I'm sure there's some difference between them.
In the first sentense, does the singular form mean one specific event? or it can be used to refer to a group of things for you to do tomorrow?

It seems more vague and difficult when I think about a longer period of time like weeks and months..
Any help woud be appreciated.

 

[SoothingDave]

If by "your" you mean one person, then "schedule." If you mean more than one person then "schedules."

 

[Kengo]

Hello SoothingDave,
Thanks for your response.

So, does the singular form refer to the whole list of things for one person to do in one day?
Does the same go when talking about one month?

 

[Raymott]

Hello SoothingDave,
Thanks for your response.

So, does the singular form refer to the whole list of things for one person to do in one day?
Does the same go when talking about one month?

I think you're missing the point. There's nothing special about 'schedule'. English uses "your" for both a single person and for more than one person.
Speaking to one person: "Give me your schedule/name/address"
Speaking to two people: "Give me your schedules/names/addresses".

A schedule is a list of things, usually things to do, or things planned.
A schedule can cover several months. "Plan" would be more common for a long-term list of planned events. - A monthly schedule, a five-year plan.

 

[Kengo]

Hello Raymott,
Thanks for your response explaining the difference between "schedule" and "plan".
It's clear and informative.

I do understand that "you" can be used for both one person and more than one person.
I'm afraid I might have simplified my question too much in my first post.

Here's how I've come to wonder about "schedule".
I used to work for an English school and we had an online system so that all the staff could share information as to how lessons were booked for the week, month and so on.
When there was a change, my British coworker would email me "I've updated the schedules".
There was only one teacher (that British guy) but as far as I can recall, he almost always used "schedules" unless we were talking about one particular lesson.
I thought it might be something to do with the number of events or dates because the system consisted of a few spreadsheets and each of them contained lots of time slots.
But maybe it was because there were many different students...?? (more than one person's schedules?)

Please help me grab the key...

 

[Raymott]

Hello Raymott,
Thanks for your response explaining the difference between "schedule" and "plan".
It's clear and informative.

I do understand that "you" can be used for both one person and more than one person.
I'm afraid I might have simplified my question too much in my first post.

Here's how I've come to wonder about "schedule".
I used to work for an English school and we had an online system so that all the staff could share information as to how lessons were booked for the week, month and so on.
When there was a change, my British coworker would email me "I've updated the schedules".
There was only one teacher (that British guy) but as far as I can recall, he almost always used "schedules" unless we were talking about one particular lesson.
I thought it might be something to do with the number of events or dates because the system consisted of a few spreadsheets and each of them contained lots of time slots.
But maybe it was because there were many different students...?? (more than one person's schedules?)

Please help me grab the key...

He could have used "schedule" in that situation. But you seem to be implying that there was more than one teacher whose activities were listed on the schedule. So, one physical schedule (the list) contained the schedules (the plans) of several teachers. If there was only one teacher, 'schedules', as you say, could apply to the different activities planned for many students.

 

[Tdol]

As a BrE speaker, I'd use schedules there- thinking of them as a group of spreadsheets, with information for everyone.

 

[Kengo]

@ Raymott and Tdol

Hello, thank you for your advice and I'm sorry for my slow response.
It is great that I get to hear your opinions about that particular situation of mine.

I think I undertsand the key and now I see it as follows,
Every person has thier own schedule that consistes of planned things to do and each of those things also has its own schedule so someone's schedule for the week could be said to include lots of smaller schedules for activities to happen during the week.

Especially in my situation, those things (planned lessons) were actually written out in the spreadsheets so that they could be called "schedules" as physical lists of things.

It might seem silly having to explain all these little aspects but nous are the hardest part of English to me.
Thanks very much for all your help.

 

[Tdol]

They're not at all silly- many of the concepts that might theoretically sound simple are quite the opposite; in fact, I think that singular/plural questions are among the most common in the forum and among the most complex. ;-)