Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[yoshi-pooh]

Hi, everyone!
Today I'd like to ask a question about the plural form of "sky".
Let me quote a part of the lyrics to "Panny Lane".

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit and mean while back.

I often see the plural form of sky like this.
In those cases, do you think "-s" is necessary, or optional?

The sky looks different depending on the season, weather and the time of day. Therefore I understand "skies" is used despite the fact that there is only one sky above us.
However, what I don't understand is that how different it sounds compared to the singular form.

I'd appreciate your help.

Yoshi-pooh,

[Anuradha Chepur]

The word 'sky' has a legitimate plural. You are right, there is only one sky. But in science, geography and other contexts, you may talk about the 'Australian skies', the 'Indian skies', etc, indicating the airspace above these countries.

For instance, I recently read somewhere thet there is a big ozone hole in the southern skies.

[hitori2k6]

Yoshi-pooh,

Also, in certain contexts, sky and skies covers different amounts
of area.

For example, someone might say "oh, look up in the sky!"
This means there is something visible nearby up in the sky.

Another example "United Airlines used to have an advertising
slogan that said "Fly the friendly skies".

In this case, "skies" means a larger area or greater distance
of sky.

I hope this helps.


hitori2k6

[yoshi-pooh]

Hello, again!

hitoriniK6 and Anuradha,thanks for your replies.

However, I still have a couple of questions about the word "skies".
First, I looked it up in my dictionary and it says "skies is often used in poetry." Does it because the plural form reminds us of many different looks of the sky? Like the sky full of stars?

Second, what is legitimate form? I found this expression in Anuradha's reply and looked it up in the dictionaries. However, I couldn't find a good interpretation.

Thank you.

[hitori2k6]

Yoshi-pooh,

Hi again.

I think that from a poetic or literary context, there is a difference
of feeling. I think "skies" carries more a feeling of grandness,
romance and wonderment".

And I think "sky" is a more personal use because it represents
something smaller and no so distant.

Here's a couple examples of that:
"I stood on the mountaintop and shouted at the sky".

"Look out to the horizon, where the land meets the sky".

I'm sorry I can't be more help than this. You have a very
good question, but one that is very hard to provide an
exact answer to. The difference between sky and skies
has a nuance that is difficult to give a clear-cut explanation
for.

Kind of like the word "winter" might have a somewhat
different meaning for you than it does for me. It is simply
based on your personal feelings, observations, experiences
and this goes beyond mere definition.

Anyway, if you have any more questions, please let me know.
You can always send a pm to me if you wish.

Hitori2k6

[Anuradha Chepur]

Yoshi-pooh,

I appreciate your curiosity. When I said 'legitimate' here, I meant that the word 'skies' is recognized and listed in dictionaries.