Nose or noses?

I believe, in this case, that because you talk of multipe people (singer = plural), you must use a plural for the body parts you're referring to as well. This holds true for all cases. e.g.

You cannot say: People looked at their hand.

There is more than one person, and, therefore, more than one hand --> so, People looked at their hands.

So, In the 1960

Thanks!

So, does this sound wrong or odd? I read this sentence in an aritcle by an Indian author.

In this university, many students referred to their professors by their first name.

Should it have been names?

Thanks again,

Tom

I'd say yes. But, then again, grammar isn't everything and I'm not a native speaker. So I'm not 100% sure about the last example you gave. Perhaps a teacher could give the answer?

Regards

Jordy

I think both the singular and plural work.

I prefer the singular. The plural gives the impression that the professors have more than one first name.

Yoong LiatI think both the singular and plural work.

I prefer the singular. The plural gives the impression that the professors have more than one first name.

Yes, I agree with you on that. But still somewhere in the back of my mind I know there is some kind of grammar rule for this. Perhaps I'm overgeneralizing, but I'm not sure.

My thanks to both of you.

Yoong Liat, what would you say about the first example I gave? May I ask if you are a native speaker? American or British?

Tom

My reference books say that the plural should be used in this case unless the singular form is idiomatic: "Statements like 'We all got our driver's license at the age of seventeen' and 'All in favor raise their right hand' are careless and illogical." and "You wouldn't change 'heart' to 'hearts' in a sentence like 'They took heart from the situation'."

Another example concerns two people

My own feeling (or perhaps I read it somewhere) is that so long as common sense tells us that each person has one nose and one driver's license, a parallel structure of plural-plural seems more natural:

We all got our driver's licenses at the age of seventeen.
People looked at their hands.
Many students referred to their professors

All those in favour are to raise their right hands.

Now their is in agreement, since the subject is plural - All those. But is it correct so say raise their right hands? - that might imply that a person has more than one right hand. Is it correct then to say raise their right hand? - but that sounds odd. Finally:

If you