I realise this, Deborah, and must admit to being slightly provocative there. My own discovery of the ‘distributive singular’ was a revelation, but it is actually quite common in English. I have a better example from The Economist, which wrote: “They are the ones who turned blind eyes to the concoction of credit …”. I understand English would favour “who turned a blind eye” – even though this clause has the plural subject. Sorry about this, but I am mad about grammar – how sad is this? 🙂
Thanks again, Deborah. As a result of your comment, I have modified this post and written the next one (no 14), which is dedicated to you. Best wishes, Anna
I know you are correct but life does sound funny in that sentence. I think many of us would have used lives. Distributive singular, who knew?
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I realise this, Deborah, and must admit to being slightly provocative there. My own discovery of the ‘distributive singular’ was a revelation, but it is actually quite common in English. I have a better example from The Economist, which wrote: “They are the ones who turned blind eyes to the concoction of credit …”. I understand English would favour “who turned a blind eye” – even though this clause has the plural subject. Sorry about this, but I am mad about grammar – how sad is this? 🙂
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Thanks again, Deborah. As a result of your comment, I have modified this post and written the next one (no 14), which is dedicated to you. Best wishes, Anna
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