1. My brother is in the library, reading a book.
2. My brother is in the library, reading books.
3. My brother is in the library, reading one book.
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What is the difference between #1 and #2? Does #1 mean #3? Or Is 'a book' in generic use in Sentence 1? In Sentence 3, 'books' is in generic use, isn't it?
1 and 2 are fine, with only one book being read in 1, and more than one book in 2.
3 is a wordy way to say 1: "a book" is all you need, not the word "one."
The difference between sentence #1 and sentence #2 lies in the use of the singular and plural form of the word "book". In sentence #1, "a book" is singular, implying that your brother is reading one specific book. In sentence #2, "books" is plural, indicating that your brother is reading multiple books.
Sentence #3, on the other hand, implies that your brother is reading one specific book, just like sentence #1. The use of "one" clarifies that your brother is reading only a single book.
It's important to note that in sentence #1, "a book" is not necessarily used in a generic sense. It simply means that your brother is reading one book, without specifying whether it is a particular book or just any book.
In sentence #3, the use of the singular form "one book" might suggest a generic sense, as it conveys the idea of any book rather than a specific one. However, the generic use of "books" is more commonly conveyed by using a plural noun phrase, as seen in sentence #2.
So, to summarize, sentence #1 and sentence #3 both refer to your brother reading one specific book, while sentence #2 indicates that your brother is reading multiple books. None of the sentences explicitly convey a generic sense, but sentence #2 is more likely to convey the idea of reading books in general.