"Tatoo" and "piercing"

[Rachel Adams]

Should I use an indefinite article before "piercing" and "tatoo"?

"My girlfriend does not have piercing, but for self-expression she likes tatoo."

 

[slevlife]

Should I use an indefinite article before "piercing" and "tattoo"?

Yes.

"My girlfriend does not have piercing, but for self-expression she likes tattoo."

These are wrong because they're in singular form. If singular form was appropriate, they would also be wrong because of the lack of articles.

My girlfriend doesn't have any piercings.
She likes tattoos as a form of self-expression.
I'll get a piercing as soon as I decide where I want it.
She has a tattoo on her arm.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Can I write "my girlfriend doesn't have a piercing"? I don't think "she likes a tattoo" is correct. I will use the plural form.

 

[slevlife]

Can I write "my girlfriend doesn't have a piercing"?

No, because it's unnatural (at least without some other change to the sentence). Usually, you identify the pierced body part (e.g., "She doesn't have pierced ears"). Even when you don't, the most common piercing (ears) usually comes in pairs (and is thus plural). So the generic singular noun piercing sounds strange in many sentences. However, it's possible to construct natural sentences with piercing in singular form, as I showed earlier.

 

[Rachel Adams]

No, because it's unnatural (at least without some other change to the sentence). Usually, you identify the pierced body part (e.g., "She doesn't have pierced ears"). Even when you don't, the most common piercing (ears) usually comes in pairs (and is thus plural). So the generic singular noun piercing sounds strange in many sentences. However, it's possible to construct natural sentences with piercing in singular form, as I showed earlier.

I think "She's obsessed with piercing" doesn't work either. I should change it into "piercings". Right?

But in "I don't like piercing" should it again be changed into plural even if I mean the painful act of piercing?

 

[Tarheel]

I think "She's obsessed with piercing" doesn't work either. I should change it to "piercings". Right?

Right.

But in "I don't like piercing" should it again be changed into plural even if I mean the painful act of piercing?

In that case, try something like:

She won't get her ears pierced because she is unwilling to put up with the pain.

 

[Rachel Adams]

In that case, try something like:

She won't get her ears pierced because she is unwilling to put up with the pain.

Is "She doesn't like piercings" correct? And "She doesn't like piercing" too?

 

[Tarheel]

The first one might mean she doesn't like the way they look. As for the second one, I don't know.

 

[slevlife]

Is "She doesn't like piercings" correct? And "She doesn't like piercing" too?

Tarheel covered the first one.

As for the second one, again it's wrong to use the singular noun piercing in this construction. However, you could talk about a specific piercing that she doesn't like. E.g., "She doesn't like her nose piercing."

By using piercing in singular in this sentence without an article, it sounds like you're using the verb piercing (-ing form of pierce) without an object. She doesn't like piercing what? This is also true for your earlier sentence "She's obsessed with piercing." She's obsessed with piercing what? On the other hand, "She's obsessed with piercings" is fine, as Tarheel already confirmed.

 

[Tarheel]

Is "She doesn't like piercings" correct? And "She doesn't like piercing" either?

I think "either" is better than "too" there, but the sentence still doesn't quite make sense.
:-|