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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
Problem with example in Strunk & White's "Elements of Style"
Hi All,
On page 10 of my copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" is the following rule and example:
Use a singular verb form after each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, someone.
"Everybody thinks he has a unique sense of humor."
For some reason this example seems ambiguous to me. Every time I read it, I am left with the impression that it can easily be confused to mean that the group of people defined by "everybody" is of the opinion that a specific person ("he") has a unique sense of humor. And yet, I believe the sentence is meant to convey that each individual in the group of "everybody" thinks each and every one of them has a unique sense of humor.
I would have much more comfortably written this sentence, if I'm interpreting the intent properly, as:
"Everybody thinks they have a unique sense of humor."
This seems to catch the intent of implying that each individual in the group of "everybody" thinks their own sense of humor is unique much better than the example in the book.
Am I wrong in thinking the example (and perhaps the rule itself) given in S&W is ambiguous? If so, can anyone explain why?
Much warmth,
Murray
http://www.planetthoughtful.org
Building a thoughtful planet,
one snide comment at a time...
On page 10 of my copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" is the following rule and example:
Use a singular verb form after each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, someone.
"Everybody thinks he has a unique sense of humor."
For some reason this example seems ambiguous to me. Every time I read it, I am left with the impression that it can easily be confused to mean that the group of people defined by "everybody" is of the opinion that a specific person ("he") has a unique sense of humor. And yet, I believe the sentence is meant to convey that each individual in the group of "everybody" thinks each and every one of them has a unique sense of humor.
I would have much more comfortably written this sentence, if I'm interpreting the intent properly, as:
"Everybody thinks they have a unique sense of humor."
This seems to catch the intent of implying that each individual in the group of "everybody" thinks their own sense of humor is unique much better than the example in the book.
Am I wrong in thinking the example (and perhaps the rule itself) given in S&W is ambiguous? If so, can anyone explain why?
Much warmth,
Murray
http://www.planetthoughtful.org
Building a thoughtful planet,
one snide comment at a time...
Top answer
[nq:1]Hi All, On page 10 of my copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" is the following rule and ... someone. [/nq] This is an old controversy, and you have probably set in motion the 934th recurrence of pointless debate about it in one of the English usage newsgroups (there being two such).
- [nq:1]Hi All, On page 10 of my copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" is the following rule and ...
- someone.
- [/nq] This is an old controversy, and you have probably set in motion the 934th recurrence of pointless debate about it in one of the English usage newsgroups (there being two such).
- While you're waiting for the hostilities to commence, you might want to consult a few words of good sense about the whole thing, which you can find at .
- Bob Lieblich Who long since stopped caring
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3 Answers
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[nq:1]Hi All, On page 10 of my copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" is the following rule and ... someone. "Everybody thinks he has a unique sense of humor." For some reason this example seems ambiguous to me.[/nq]
This is an old controversy, and you have probably set in motion the 934th recurrence of pointless debate about it in one of the English usage newsgroups (there being two
This is an old controversy, and you have probably set in motion the 934th recurrence of pointless debate about it in one of the English usage newsgroups (there being two
00
[nq:1]Hi All, On page 10 of my copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" is the following rule and example: Use a singular verb form after each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, someone. "Everybody thinks he has a unique sense of humor."[/nq]
Please note that with a few exceptions, there must be an antecedent for a pronoun, preferably close by.
In the above example, the
Please note that with a few exceptions, there must be an antecedent for a pronoun, preferably close by.
In the above example, the
00
[nq:1]Hi All, On page 10 of my copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" is the following rule and example: Use a singular verb form after each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, someone. "Everybody thinks he has a unique sense of humor."[/nq]
There is no confusion with this sentence if "he" has no antecedent except "Everybody." There is a larger problem with using "they" in
There is no confusion with this sentence if "he" has no antecedent except "Everybody." There is a larger problem with using "they" in
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