here (这里)

In the sentence 桌子上有书 (Zhuōzi shàng yǒu shū) — “There are books on the table” — no word directly marks the noun “书” (shū – book) as plural. However, plurality is inferred from context.

🔍 So which part indicates plurality?

It’s the context of the sentence — specifically:

“桌子上有书” (There are books on the table)

• If it were only one book, Chinese would more likely say:
  桌子上有一本书。 (Zhuōzi shàng yǒu yī běn shū.)
  → “There is one book on the table.”

• But in “桌子上有书”, there’s no number or measure word — this often implies more than one when no other information is given.

✅ Summary:

• The word 书 (shū) itself is neutral — it can be singular or plural.

• The sentence context (“there is [some] book(s) on the table”) makes it natural to interpret as plural, unless otherwise specified.