 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2009Bad grammar?
Looking at the instructions on a tin of talc*, I found this: "Keep powder away from children's nose and mouth". This just sounds wrong to me. Is it bad grammar, though? -- * Nothing else to read in the bathroom. > Looking at the instructions on a tin of talc*, I found this: > > "Keep powder away from children's nose and mouth". > > This just sounds wrong to me. Is it bad grammar, though? It might be OK in a parallel universe where several children shared one nose and one mouth. In our version of reality I would have written "Keep powder away from child's nose and mouth", because it seems reasonable to assume that only one child will be powdered at a time. I suppose a challenged parent with octuplets might increase efficiency by powdering them all at once. In that case "Keep powder away from children's noses and mouths" would be appropriate. > -- > * Nothing else to read in the bathroom.  SignatureLes (BrE) <snip> >> "Keep powder away from children's nose and mouth". >> This just sounds wrong to me. Is it bad grammar, though? > It might be OK in a parallel universe where several children shared one > nose [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > once. In that case "Keep powder away from children's noses and mouths" > would be appropriate. Thanks for replying. I'm glad my "WRONG!" litmus* is still working properly. I was mulling over how to re-write it, and thought of "Keep powder away from children's noses and mouths", but not your far more sensible suggestion, "Keep powder away from child's nose and mouth". I liked "Keep powder away from nose and mouth". After all, it's not going to enhance adults' health either, is it? In reality though, it is probably boilerplate from the legal division, in case someone smothers their child in the stuff, so they need to be specific. -- * Probably revealing my age here > I liked "Keep powder away from nose and mouth". After all, it's not going to > enhance adults' health either, is it? Problem is, somebody's bound to read it as meaning his own nose and mouth, and not even think about the fact that the child he's smothering has them, too. ¬R "Jimmy": >>> "Keep powder away from children's nose and mouth". >>> This just sounds wrong to me. Is it bad grammar, though? No. Leslie Danks: >> It might be OK in a parallel universe where several children shared one >> nose and one mouth. It's okay in this universe. The classic example of this construction is "everyone in the room raised their hand." They raised one hand each. "Jimmy": > Thanks for replying. I'm glad my "WRONG!" litmus* is still working properly. Think again. SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | "Jargon leakage is getting to be a real problem; msb@vex.net | sb should do sth about it." --R.H. Draney My text in this article is in the public domain. > "Jimmy": >>>> "Keep powder away from children's nose and mouth". [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > It's okay in this universe. For you, perhaps, and possibly for some others. > The classic example of this construction > is "everyone in the room raised their hand." They raised one hand each. Not the same. In this case "their" is used as a generic singular pronoun and has a long history of use in English. These days, it is one way of avoiding perceived sexual bias without resorting to the clumsy "his or hers" construction (or other methods, unwieldy or bizarre). All this has been discussed here at length (probably more than once). "Children's", on the other hand, is the possessive form of a normal plural noun. Maybe I missed something, but I'm not aware that plural nouns can be treated as singular as and when the writer sees fit. > "Jimmy": >> Thanks for replying. I'm glad my "WRONG!" litmus* is still working >> properly. > > Think again. SignatureLes (BrE) "Jimmy": >>>>> "Keep powder away from children's nose and mouth". >>>>> This just sounds wrong to me. Is it bad grammar, though? Les Danks: >>>> It might be OK in a parallel universe where several children >>>> shared one nose and one mouth. Mark Brader: >> It's okay in this universe. Les Danks: > For you, perhaps, and possibly for some others. >> The classic example of this construction is "everyone in the room >> raised their hand." They raised one hand each. > Not the same. In this case "their" is used as a generic singular... > "Children's", on the other hand, is the possessive form of a normal > plural noun. ... On further consideration, Les is right. I withdraw my previous response. Apologies. SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | "B-b-but laziness is the only virtue I have *left*!" msb@vex.net | -- Jutta Degener > "Jimmy": >>>> "Keep powder away from children's nose and mouth". [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > It's okay in this universe. The classic example of this construction > is "everyone in the room raised their hand." They raised one hand each. Use of the singular, where each person has one each, is typically French. SignatureRob Bannister > Looking at the instructions on a tin of talc*, I found this: > > "Keep powder away from children's nose and mouth". > > This just sounds wrong to me. Is it bad grammar, though? No, and that is what makes the sentence interesting. 1. It is syntactically wrong, because we know children (plural) have (plural) noses and mouths. 2. But it is grammatically correct (viz. breaks no accepted rule of grammar) -- and is thus a provocative illustration that grammar is not perfectly matched to the syntax of real facts about the world. This is a useful warning. At some age during our intellectual growth we usually tend to suppose language "tells us something about the world," but we usually grow out of this. If not, we need a heuristic reminder that language is not a reliable guide to facts. SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.