From New Zealand 2007年7月，ニュージーランドへ移住してきました。ニュージーランドでの日常生活についてつづります。

I don’t like oranges. / I don’t eat oranges. / They don’t sell oranges. は無冠詞複数名詞でOK。

でも，I don’t have dogs.やI’ve never made speeches.の無冠詞複数名詞に違和感あるのはなぜ？

という疑問について，以下ネイティブの解説。

Let's change it to 'children'.

 

'I don't have any children.'

--- Most people consider that two or three kids is a normal family unit, so since the topic is the number of children, the negative plural is correct.

 

'I don't have a child.'

--- The negative singular would be appropriate in China, where most people have only one child.

 

'I don't have children.'

--- This would suggest that the topic is not 'how many', but 'what', and that the speaker has something other than children.

A mother frustrated at her messy children might declare, 'I don't have children - I have bloody animals!'

Now, 'They (don't) sell oranges' - answers a 'what' question.

'I have never made speeches' also answers a what question ('I've made presentations to small groups, but I've never made speeches').

However, if someone asks 'How many speeches have you made to date?' you could answer, 'I've never made any speeches' or 'I've never made a speech (in my life)!' for emphasis (= 'I've never made even a single one'). Ditto for 'English speeches'.