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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
Singular or Plural?
I apologize for the somewhat vague subject line, but I don't know how to describe my question in a few words.
It's about a dispute I have with someone who claims to know English well (I don't), but his opinion doesn't quite sound right to me. Picture this: I have three sisters. All three are married. There is a photograph showing sister 1 sitting on the lap of husband 1, sister two sitting on the lap of husband 2 and sister ..., well you guessed it. Can I say, "This photograph shows my sisters sitting on their husbands' laps"? Or should it be "... sitting on their husbands' lap" or "... on their husband's lap"? I'm in favour of the first version, but the self-proclaimed expert insists that, because each sister has only one husband and each husband has only one lap, I can't use the plural for husband and lap.
In the above example, I could avoid problems by saying "... shows my sisters, each one sitting on her husband's lap", but that isn't always possible. Take for example: "Those men who display the cracks in their fat asses every time they bend down ...". It could be argued that each man has only one fat ass and each ass has only one crack, and that therefore the singular should be used. But aren't we talking about a collection of asses and the totality of cracks in those asses?
Another example: "After seeing these pictures I frequently caught myself looking at boy's crotches and wondering what their penises might look like." Interestingly, my friend doesn't object to 'crotch' being in the plural, but argues that 'penis' needs to be singular.
I hope this isn't one of those cases where either form is right. I'm looking for some grammatical rule which clearly states whether the sentences above call for plural or singular.
Thanks in advance
Gato
It's about a dispute I have with someone who claims to know English well (I don't), but his opinion doesn't quite sound right to me. Picture this: I have three sisters. All three are married. There is a photograph showing sister 1 sitting on the lap of husband 1, sister two sitting on the lap of husband 2 and sister ..., well you guessed it. Can I say, "This photograph shows my sisters sitting on their husbands' laps"? Or should it be "... sitting on their husbands' lap" or "... on their husband's lap"? I'm in favour of the first version, but the self-proclaimed expert insists that, because each sister has only one husband and each husband has only one lap, I can't use the plural for husband and lap.
In the above example, I could avoid problems by saying "... shows my sisters, each one sitting on her husband's lap", but that isn't always possible. Take for example: "Those men who display the cracks in their fat asses every time they bend down ...". It could be argued that each man has only one fat ass and each ass has only one crack, and that therefore the singular should be used. But aren't we talking about a collection of asses and the totality of cracks in those asses?
Another example: "After seeing these pictures I frequently caught myself looking at boy's crotches and wondering what their penises might look like." Interestingly, my friend doesn't object to 'crotch' being in the plural, but argues that 'penis' needs to be singular.
I hope this isn't one of those cases where either form is right. I'm looking for some grammatical rule which clearly states whether the sentences above call for plural or singular.
Thanks in advance
Gato
Top answer
Gato Medio: [nq:1]Picture this: I have three sisters. All three are married. There is a photograph showing sister 1 sitting on the ...
- Gato Medio: [nq:1]Picture this: I have three sisters.
- All three are married.
- There is a photograph showing sister 1 sitting on the ...
- , well you guessed it.
- [/nq] Yes, that's what I'd say.
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5 Answers
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Gato Medio:
[nq:1]Picture this: I have three sisters. All three are married. There is a photograph showing sister 1 sitting on the ... and sister ..., well you guessed it. Can I say, "This photograph shows my sisters sitting on their husbands' laps"?[/nq]
Yes, that's what I'd say.
[nq:1]Or should it be "... sitting on their husbands' lap"[/nq]
That doesn't work; if the husbands are
[nq:1]Picture this: I have three sisters. All three are married. There is a photograph showing sister 1 sitting on the ... and sister ..., well you guessed it. Can I say, "This photograph shows my sisters sitting on their husbands' laps"?[/nq]
Yes, that's what I'd say.
[nq:1]Or should it be "... sitting on their husbands' lap"[/nq]
That doesn't work; if the husbands are
00
[nq:1] It's about a dispute I have with someone who claims to know English well (I don't), [/nq]
For someone who claims not to know English well, this post is an unbelievably fluent and competent piece of writing.
I think you should go with your own judgement - I can't fault it.
Mark Barratt
For someone who claims not to know English well, this post is an unbelievably fluent and competent piece of writing.
I think you should go with your own judgement - I can't fault it.
Mark Barratt
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[nq:1]I apologize for the somewhat vague subject line, but I don't know how to describe my question in a few ... is right. I'm looking for some grammatical rule which clearly states whether the sentences above call for plural or singular.[/nq]
What we (as speakers of English) need here is a collective form, apart from singular or plural. Absent such, we could just add the word "collective" in
What we (as speakers of English) need here is a collective form, apart from singular or plural. Absent such, we could just add the word "collective" in
00
[nq:1]What we (as speakers of English) need here is a collective form, apart from singular or plural. Absent such, we ... at boys' crotches and wondering what their collective penises might look like" (you shold get treatment for that, you know).[/nq]
"Respective" is the word, though it needs to go before "husbands'" rather then after.
Paul
In bocca al Lupo!
"Respective" is the word, though it needs to go before "husbands'" rather then after.
Paul
In bocca al Lupo!
00
[nq:2]What we (as speakers of English) need here is a ... look like" (you shold get treatment for that, you know).[/nq]
[nq:1]"Respective" is the word, though it needs to go before "husbands'" rather then after.[/nq]
My lap can be persuaded to be collective.
dg (domain=ccwebster)
[nq:1]"Respective" is the word, though it needs to go before "husbands'" rather then after.[/nq]
My lap can be persuaded to be collective.
dg (domain=ccwebster)
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