Db may be correct, strictly speaking, but I have never seen the word 'evidences' used - only 'evidence' - for singular and plural. Using 'evidences' may not be incorrect but it's so unfamiliar and unused that it shows that the amateur translator is not as good as a professional - who I don't think would use that word nowadays.
IMO If you can't tell that something has been translated from another language into English - then that is the sign of a professional translator. That is the acid test.
Anne's English is excellent, but it's not difficult to work out that it is not her first language.
Thank you, Benice ! I wish it were. English is my 3rd language, my second is German.
"Evidence" may be used as a countable noun or not. The difference is in the point of view. Whether you consider the "substance" of what is meant or a particular occurrence. Some words can be used both ways.
Is there evidence of this ? Há prova disso ? (uncountable in both languages)
They reviewed the available evidence (s?). Examinaram as provas disponíveis. (countable in both languages)
The bottom line with Evidences is that it is more common in modern US usage, than British and that it is more common in legal and scientific writing than everyday life.
There are so many nuances in English that are missing in French German, Spanish, Portuguese etc.. It is possible to tell a considerable amount about a writer by their use of words, grammar and idiom in a way that is less common in other languages.
Nurse Debunker, though I reckon in you a certain sense of rigour (unfortunately sometimes masked by a lack of courtesy), I find this statement sententious and arbitrary. Ask grammarians !
And meditate : though the English vocabulary is larger than, for example, the French one, though Basic English has invaded the planet, why is French still the language of diplomacy ?
History. Why is French otherwise dying? Because of the hegemony of English.
English is the worst of all languages to be an international one. It is complex, nuanced and difficult to speak or write naturally as a native speaker.
However its vast vocabulary and incredibly mixed and complex grammar make it very difficult to speak in a way that is seen as correct.
Being neither Romance nor Germanic we often have twice the number of words for a concept. as any other language.
The French have the subjunctive, the English speakers have similar difficulties in virtually every department.
Additionally, unlike the French, we have no Academy, so English changes, absorbs and mutates at an incredible rate, and now has so many non-UK non-US etc speakers that various dialects exist that are equally acceptable as Eglis- Pakistani English is separate from Indian English, separate dialects with their own grammars and semantics exist for the Philippines, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, West Africa, East Africa, South Africa and an English shared by Arabic speakers.
English grammar makes no clear sense and has complex rules, half of which are derived inappropriately fro Latin and enforced by pedants since Victorian times.
Additionally, because there is no overall authority, it is highly open to loan words from any other language and complete neologisms that flourish and then survive or die.
This Darwinian like progression and a lack of overall direction makes English probably one of the most complex languages available- a dreadful choice for an international language.
In no way am I saying that English is superior, merely that it is incredibly difficult to get right for the circumstances.
