[問題] Every one of the students had to do their own experiment.

[tough game]

Every one of the students had to do their own experiment.

Every one of the students should have their own books.

（正式用法是用單數his，但實際上的使用是their多於his。）

但我想請問的是，在用了their的前提下，後面的名詞（experiment、books）

是該用單數還是複數呢?


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↑← Author: pinxi 從 125-233-82-126.dynamic.hinet.net 發表

[J'aime mon Faye]

Post by tough game
Every one of the students had to do their own experiment.
Every one of the students should have their own books.
（正式用法是用單數his，但實際上的使用是their多於his。）
但我想請問的是，在用了their的前提下，後面的名詞（experiment、books）
是該用單數還是複數呢?

Take the singular to be grammatical.

But the plural possessive has been used in this case since

Shakespeare's days. It is obvious that taking the plural can avoid the

gender issue. How smart Shakespeare is.


And to your question, it depents on whether the object is owned by each

subject or by all of them.

e.g. Students were blamed for cheating on the test by their teacher.

e.g. Students were blamed for cheating on the test by their parents.


If you have any question, just let me know.





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[DJ]

Post by tough game
Every one of the students had to do their own experiment.
Every one of the students should have their own books.
（正式用法是用單數his，但實際上的使用是their多於his。）
但我想請問的是，在用了their的前提下，後面的名詞（experiment、books）
是該用單數還是複數呢?

這兩個句子表達的重點的"每一個人的共有情況"--每個人都是一樣的情形，
並不是這些人這樣子，那些人這樣子，所以在their後面的名詞仍是以
單一一個人的情況來決定單複數(因為大家都一樣，所以以一個人來當
做例子就可以了)。所以如果他們只是要做「自己的一個實驗」，那麼
就是單數名詞(第一句的情況)，如果每人要做兩個實驗，那麼就用複數。
第二句也是一樣。

[這是一首得獎的小情歌]

Post by tough game
Every one of the students had to do their own experiment.
Every one of the students should have their own books.
（正式用法是用單數his，但實際上的使用是their多於his。）
但我想請問的是，在用了their的前提下，後面的名詞（experiment、books）
是該用單數還是複數呢?

Whether or not to use a plural object here does not depend on the "their".
It depends on whether each student has only one or more than one
experiment/book. Restructuring the sentence will show you why:

Every one of the students had to do (an) experiment(s) of their own.
Every one of the students should have (a) book(s) of their own.

When the subject is plural, however, the object becomes plural (unless
they're doing one experiment collectively):
e.g. The students/They had to do their own experiments.
So the determining factor is the main subject.

What makes you uncertain in this case is probably the occurance of the plural
"students" in the sentence, which, together with the singular their, reinforces
the illusion of a plural subject. If you take in mind that "Every one of the
students" is actually equal to "every student" it might be easier to grasp.

Do note, however, that the verb agreement for a singular they is identical
to that of a plural they.
e.g. Every one of the students had to do the experiment(s) they WERE assigned.

If you're unsure, avoid using the singular they/their construction.
Some may consider the grammatical inconsistency wrong.

--
 ◢██◤ Origin: 交大外文 眾聲喧嘩 2.0 bbs.fl.nctu.edu.tw
◢██◤◢ Author: oasis 從 jay.Dorm-GD2.NCTU.edu.tw 發表
≡≡≡◢

[Jason]

Post by tough game
Every one of the students had to do their own experiment.
Every one of the students should have their own books.
（正式用法是用單數his，但實際上的使用是their多於his。）
但我想請問的是，在用了their的前提下，後面的名詞（experiment、books）
是該用單數還是複數呢?

This is a very good question. In fact, the given examples consist two
structures confuse most of our learners, even those with a fairly good
command of grammar, including myself. The one part is "plural possessive
pronoun + singular noun," which is common but considered by most of our
students as grammatically wrong. I have once asked which of the following
is correct:

They put on their hat and left.
They put on their hats and left.

Peacenik explained it briefly and clearly--both are acceptable with different
meaning. Here, BurgessChen and Oasis have further detailed the differences.

The other part is the usage of "every." "Every + noun" followed by a
singular verb is easy to comprehend, yet its structure is complicated by the
plural in sense. The given example would be more interesting if it is:

Every student HAS to do THEIR own experimentS.

I bet 90% of our students would say it is wrong. What is grammatically
correct is sometimes considered idiomatically awkward, and what is common in
speech is often regarded incorrect in writing. So, when it comes to writing,
I rephrase the sentence to avoid such confusion, as suggested in the usage
note at:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/every


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