the attacked

[navi tasan]

1-He seems to imply that attacker and attacked are both to some extent responsible.
2-He seems to imply that the attacker and attacked are both to some extent responsible.
3-He seems to imply that the attacker and the attacked are both to some extent responsible.




In which of these sentences can we be sure that:
a-there is one attacker

and in which can we be sure that:
b-"the attacked" are more than one person

[5jj]

In which of these sentences can we be sure that

a-there is one attacker ?.......All of them; 'attacker' is singular.
b-"the attacked" are more than one person?.......None of them.

[J&K Tutoring]

They all mean the same thing- there is one attacker, but we don't know how many were attacked.

The word both implies two people, perhaps leading one to assume one attacker and one attacked, but there may have been any number of people attacked- one each at different times, so the number of victims is undetermined.

[SoothingDave]

If speaking in general, I don't think we can even say that one attacker is meant.

If I say that "The tackler in football has to be careful not to lead with his head" that doesn't mean that every situation has only one tackler.

[J&K Tutoring]

If speaking in general, I don't think we can even say that one attacker is meant.

If I say that "The tackler in football has to be careful not to lead with his head" that doesn't mean that every situation has only one tackler.

With respect, I disagree. Your example uses the singular tackler and the singular pronoun his. Each tackler must act alone to protect his own head. Yes, there may be more than one attacker and more than one tackler, but the sentence structure treats them (him/her) as an indivual, implying one attacker, one tackler.

If multiple attackers (or tacklers) are to be considered as a group, then the sentence structure should reflect that. Whatever the writer may have meant, he is saying one attacker.

[Tdol]

You could make the plural clear by saying and those attacked.

[navi tasan]

Thank you all.

One more question. Is this one correct:

4-He seems to imply that attackers and attacked are equally responsible.