How can I tell if the object (the bird) is plural or singular? Is “hontī” plural or singular? How would one write:
the man sees the birds (pl.)
versus the man sees the bird (sing)
For this word (and others in the same declension, i.e. that end in -es), the accusative singular and plural are identical (it ends in -ī). . So you cannot differentiate them, and you will have to know which is which from context.