Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Quick Grammar

This is topic Quick Grammar in forum Fragments and Feedback for Short Works at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Phanto (Member # 1619) on :

quote:

Everyone was looking at him, curiosity in their eyes.

Ah!!! Everyone = singlular. So the pronoun should be.

What should I do?

Posted by RillSoji (Member # 1920) on :

Everyone was looking curiously at him.

Curiously, everyone looked at him.

Onlookers gazed upon him curiously.

Dunno?

Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :

Phanto, I don't know what you are asking precisely. Your sentence is grammatically correct.

Posted by Gwalchmai (Member # 1807) on :

No, Phanto is correct. Because the pronoun everyone is singular the possessive pronoun should be too if using correct English. The problem arises because we just don't do it anymore in everyday speech. For that reason I think the sentance would be acceptable (I know, I for one wouldn't think twice if I read it somewhere) but in the interests of making it grammatically correct, how about:

They were all looking at him, curiosity in their eyes.

[This message has been edited by Gwalchmai (edited February 27, 2004).]

Posted by Silver6 (Member # 1415) on :

Actually, let me quote from my grammar here: 'Although you use singular verbs with indefinite pronouns [everyone, everybody, no-one, anyone, etc.] if you want to use a pronoun to refer back to an indefinite pronoun, you use the plural pronoun "they", "them", "their" or "themselves".'
The gist of it: the sentence is gramatically correct (according to Collins, anyway)

Posted by Balthasar (Member # 5399) on :

It's always interesting when a grammar issue is brought up around here because you hardly ever get a unified answer. Here's the real answer to your question.

If you want to preserve the older and more traditional rules of English grammar, you need to change the sentence to either "Everyone was looking at him, curiosity in his eyes," or to, "They were all looking at him, curiosity in their eyes."

On the other hand, the grammar book I studied says that in informal speaking and writing, "Everyone was looking at him, curiosity in their eyes," is okay.

In my not-so-humble opinion, most current changes in grammar, usage, and style are the result of a wide-spread ignorance among readers, writers, and editors, and thus I refuse to admit these deviations into my own writing. (This doesn't mean they don't seep in during my first draft, but I do my best to root them out during the editing phase.) You'll have to decide for yourself which one you like better.

Another point you might want to consider is the overall diction level of your work. If your story is written in a conversational tone, ladden with the vernacular, then an informal usage would be very acceptable. But if you're writing with a high diction level in order to impress on the reader the authority of the narrator or the seriousness of the story, then you should stick to the formal rules of usage. This point is often overlooked.

[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited March 23, 2004).]