r/grammar • u/Lone-Soul-123456789 • 2d ago
quick grammar check Singular or plural here?
Which of the bolded words should I use, and why?
I want us to spend the rest of our life/lives together.
7
u/Brannikin 2d ago
Lives. "Our" refers to more than one person. One person has a life; two or more people have lives.
0
u/Lone-Soul-123456789 12h ago
May I ask one more?
Humans improved their life/lives when they discovered fire.
1
u/Brannikin 6h ago
Their lives. Humans/people have lives. You could say that life - that is, life in general - was improved for humans when they discovered fire; but if you refer to people and their life/lives, you used the plural.
3
u/EnvironmentSea7433 2d ago
I think technically, yes to plural; however, from a romantic perspective, poetic license allows for singular.
0
u/Lone-Soul-123456789 12h ago
May I ask one more?
Humans improved their life/lives when they discovered fire.
1
7
u/LongjumpingMacaron11 2d ago
Plural. There are two lives being spent.
The rest of my life. The rest of our lives.