I can sing a song vs I can sing songs

[Lacierva]

I have a textbook that has few collocations in the unit, such as sing a song, write a story, sing a song, ride a bike, fly a kite, paint a picture, play the violin.
The arrangement of the sentence made me a bit confused.

The followings are some examples of the sentences from the textbook.

I can sing a song.
I can paint a picture.
I can fly a kite.
I can play the violin.
Note: Only one person do the activity in the picture of each collocation here, but in the next page, sentences made with "They" are given.

They can sing songs.
They can paint pictures.
They can write stories.
The can play violin. (no plural here)
Note: In the picture, two people are doing the same activity, namely, one person read a book and another person read a book as well, so there are actually two books in the picture.

I found these are very confusing and here are my questions:
(1)
I personally think both "I can sing a song." and "I can sing songs." are grammatically correct.
I also think "They can paint a picture." and "They can paint pictures." are correct.
But why the text book use "I can sing a song." instead of "I can sing songs"; use "They can paint pictures" instead of "They can paint a picture."?????
Is it because the quantities of the stuff that people use in the pictures are different?
If two people paint a picture together, it would be "they can paint a picture"???
But I believe this unit focus on one's ability. :roll:

(2)
If the two people have their own violins , why can't we say "They can play the violins."???

Because "They can read books.", "They can paint pictures." and "They can play the violin." are on the same page, it can be very disturbing.

These are quite simple sentences, but really make me headache. LOL

Thank you all in advance.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I have a textbook that has few collocations in the unit, such as sing a song, write a story, sing a song, ride a bike, fly a kite, paint a picture, play the violin.
The arrangement of the sentence made me a bit confused.

The [STRIKE]followings[/STRIKE] following are some examples of [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] sentences from the textbook.

I can sing a song.
I can paint a picture.
I can fly a kite.
I can play the violin.
Note: Only one person does the activity in the picture of each collocation here, but on the next page, sentences made with "They" are given.

They can sing songs.
They can paint pictures.
They can write stories.
They can play violin. (no plural here)
Note: In the picture, two people are doing the same activity, namely, one person reads a book and another person reads a book, as well, so there are actually two books in the picture.

I found these are very confusing and here are my questions:
(1)
I personally think both "I can sing a song[STRIKE].[/STRIKE]" and "I can sing songs[STRIKE].[/STRIKE]" are grammatically correct.

Yes.

I also think "They can paint a picture[STRIKE].[/STRIKE]"

That's unlikely. I once saw three people painting a mural together. But in general, "They can paint a picture" is unlikely. Usually one person paints one picture and several people paint several pictures.

There are other exceptions. But for your purposes as a student, the advice your text gives is good.

and "They can paint pictures[STRIKE].[/STRIKE]" are correct.

Yes, that one is correct.

But why does the [STRIKE]text book[/STRIKE] textbook use "I can sing a song[STRIKE].[/STRIKE]" instead of "I can sing songs" and use "They can paint pictures" instead of "They can paint a picture[STRIKE].[/STRIKE]"?
Is it because the quantities of the stuff that people use in the pictures are different?

No.

If two people paint a picture together, would it be "They can paint a picture"?

Yes. But it's not very natural. We'd probably say "They are painting a picture."

(2)
If the two people have their own violins[no space], why can't we say "They can play the violins."?

We can. Sometimes. It depends on the situation. In most cases, "They can play the violin" is idiomatic. It means they're both know how to use the instrument.

But in some situations, the plural would make more sense:

- Me: May my children use the instruments in the classroom?
- You: I don't want them using the drums, but they can play the violins.

Because "They can read books.", "They can paint pictures[STRIKE].[/STRIKE]" and "They can play the violin." are on the same page, it can be very disturbing.

If I say I can play the violin, it's idiomatic. I'm not talking about a particular violin. I'm talking about any violin. In this context, it's not countable.

These are quite simple sentences, but they really give me a headache. [STRIKE]LOL[/STRIKE]

Thank you. [STRIKE]all in advance. [/STRIKE]

Welcome, Lacierva!

Now go take some aspirin!

 

[Lacierva]

Welcome, Lacierva!

Now go take some aspirin!

Thank you for much, Charlie!

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you so much, Charlie!

Charlie is very patient.

 

[Rover_KE]

I have a textbook ...

Always tell us the title and author of any book you quote from, please, Lacierva.

...

[STRIKE]Thank you all in advance. [/STRIKE] Unnecessary. Just click on Thank in the bottom left-hand corner of any reply you find helpful – after we have replied.

 

[Tdol]

If someone had a collection of violins, you could use the plural, but generally we talk about the ability.