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Postmodernbliss Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Possessives
Hello,
I often hear the following sentence, "I am so happy we are in each others lives." Given the word each denotes a singular possession of a person's life, shouldn't the sentence end with the word "life" and not "lives."
Many kind thanks in advance for any and all who reply.
I often hear the following sentence, "I am so happy we are in each others lives." Given the word each denotes a singular possession of a person's life, shouldn't the sentence end with the word "life" and not "lives."
Many kind thanks in advance for any and all who reply.
Top answer
Oh yes, probably-- your logic is good. But logic often does not enter into language use, and I believe you will hear the plural here more than the singular. Notional concord is a heavy influence on native speakers, where learners are bound to the grammatical concord they have learned.
- Oh yes, probably-- your logic is good.
- But logic often does not enter into language use, and I believe you will hear the plural here more than the singular.
- Notional concord is a heavy influence on native speakers, where learners are bound to the grammatical concord they have learned.
- Here the speaker is thinking of the 2 lives, so s/he uses the plural.
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1 Answers
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Oh yes, probably-- your logic is good. But logic often does not enter into language use, and I believe you will hear the plural here more than the singular. Notional concord is a heavy influence on native speakers, where learners are bound to the grammatical concord they have learned. Here the speaker is thinking of the 2 lives, so s/he uses the plural.
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Oh yes, probably-- your logic is good. But logic often does not enter into language use, and I believe you will hear the plural here more than the singular. Notional concord is a heavy influence on native speakers, where learners are bound to the grammatical concord they have learned. Here the speaker is thinking of the 2 lives, so s/he uses the plural.
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