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Curiouscat Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Both of our attention is or are?

I encountered this sentence structure yesterday and I keep coming back to it.
"Both of our attention is on our child".
The word "both" is plural in construction.
Attention on the other hand is singular and using "attentions" which would mean something entirely different anyway, sounds very awkward.

Thanks,
Curious Cat
  

Top answer

This is two people (presumably a couple who are parents of a child) acting in concert. ". Either way, their attention, in concert, is focused on their child.

— Sam1947

  • This is two people (presumably a couple who are parents of a child) acting in concert.
  • ".
  • Either way, their attention, in concert, is focused on their child.
  • The latter isn't really a natural way to say it, though, although I'm not sure it is techinically incorrect.
  • " The latter makes it seem a bit more like they are doing it individually, but both still focusing on the child.
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2 Answers
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This is two people (presumably a couple who are parents of a child) acting in concert. Think of it as, "Our attention is focused on our child." That sounds more natural to the ear, but is the same idea as "Both of our attention is focused, etc.". Either way, their attention, in concert, is focused on their child.

The latter isn't really a natural way to say it, though, although I'm no
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Thanks sam1947 for the detailed answer! "Our attention is focused on our child" or "Both of us" and not "both our attention" sounds more pleasing to the ears.
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