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Davidrock65 Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
plural or singular?
which one of the following is correct?
A. The girls put a hat on their head B. The girls put hats on their heads
C. The girls put a hat on their heads
One of my friend told me that it should be A, because we only have ONE head. Is it right?
So we should say," We breathe with our nose," instead of "We breathe with our noses?"
Really appreciate your help
A. The girls put a hat on their head B. The girls put hats on their heads
C. The girls put a hat on their heads
One of my friend told me that it should be A, because we only have ONE head. Is it right?
So we should say," We breathe with our nose," instead of "We breathe with our noses?"
Really appreciate your help
Top answer
I always struggle with this construction - not in this case, because the meaning is obvious: the girls share neither one head between them, nor one hat, but each has her own hat. ) But "The men all came with their wives" type stuff - did each man have only one wife? Because if you say the men came with their wife, she'd be a very busy lady!
- I always struggle with this construction - not in this case, because the meaning is obvious: the girls share neither one head between them, nor one hat, but each has her own hat.
- ) But "The men all came with their wives" type stuff - did each man have only one wife?
- Because if you say the men came with their wife, she'd be a very busy lady!
- And okay, in the US, we know that each man has only one wife, but what about "the students asked about their assignments"?
- If they ALL have the same assignment, you can use singular, but if each has his or her own assignment, it's not clear if each has one or more than one.
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3 Answers
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I always struggle with this construction - not in this case, because the meaning is obvious: the girls share neither one head between them, nor one hat, but each has her own hat. (So B is correct.)
But "The men all came with their wives" type stuff - did each man have only one wife? Because if you say the men came with their wife, she'd be a very busy lady! And okay, in the US, we know
But "The men all came with their wives" type stuff - did each man have only one wife? Because if you say the men came with their wife, she'd be a very busy lady! And okay, in the US, we know
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Thanks for answering my questions
But I am wondering why my american friend chose A. He said because each girl has only one hat and one head. And also I got this question while teaching my students about shapes.
There's a picture in which there are many blue circles of different size. Why did the american teacher say,"draw a line under the small blue ci
But I am wondering why my american friend chose A. He said because each girl has only one hat and one head. And also I got this question while teaching my students about shapes.
There's a picture in which there are many blue circles of different size. Why did the american teacher say,"draw a line under the small blue ci
00
Thanks for answering my questions
But I am wondering why my american friend chose A. He said because each girl has only one hat and one head. And also I got this question while teaching my students about shapes.
There's a picture in which there are many blue circles of different size. Why did the american teacher say,"draw a line under the small blue ci
But I am wondering why my american friend chose A. He said because each girl has only one hat and one head. And also I got this question while teaching my students about shapes.
There's a picture in which there are many blue circles of different size. Why did the american teacher say,"draw a line under the small blue ci
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