Here's another example. We all know that it's a good idea for people to designate what will happen to their belongings after they die. But it's not a good idea to express it in this way:
'All people with homes and children should have a will.'
Sure, it's a great idea to write a will, but we probably shouldn't make all those homeowners and parents try to squeeze everything into just one shared will.
Instead, 'All people with homes and children should have wills.'
And while we're on the subject of home ownership, it might make sense to reflect on the idea that:
'Many Americans want to buy their own home.'
Here's another example. We all know that it's a good idea for people to designate what will happen to their belongings after they die. But it's not a good idea to express it in this way:
'All people with homes and children should have a will.'
Sure, it's a great idea to write a will, but we probably shouldn't make all those homeowners and parents try to squeeze everything into just one shared will.
Instead, 'All people with homes and children should have wills.'
And while we're on the subject of home ownership, it might make sense to reflect on the idea that:
'Many Americans want to buy their own home.'
However, because there are zoning laws that protect houses from getting too crowded, we'll do well to remember that:
'Many Americans want to buy their own homes.'
Lesson Summary
Making words plural in order to avoid making it look as though lots of people collectively own or use just one thing isn't hard to do. The problem is that we all make these mistakes of stuffing cars and houses full of people when we speak, and sometimes we do it when we write. Train yourself to spot this type of error by doing a few of the provided quiz questions.
The trick is simply remembering that when you see wording that suggests that a lot of people own or use just one thing, when really they all own or use their own separate things, you should pluralize the thing that they are all owning or using to give all of those people their own cars and houses, thereby correcting the error. It's a simple fix that can save you valuable points on graded essays and exams.