noun/number agreement

[bartek1988]

Hi,

I need some help. Which of the highlighted alternatives are grammatically correct?

Many supporters claim that exposing children to competition is necessary to build a strong personality/strong personalities, however, opponents argue that it can be harmful to the mentality/mentalities of children.

I would go for the plural.I think that if each child has one personality and one mentality, and if the sentence is about children that it would be logical to use the plural as children won't have one personality and mentality, rather each of them would have a separate one.

The same goes for 'life', like in: "People in the countryside live calm lives".
Thank you for your help.

Finally, following the same line of reasoning, can I say: children's psyches?


Thanks for answering my queries.

 

[Grumpy]

You are correct, but I would express the end of the sentence as "children's mentalities".

 

[bartek1988]

Thank you!

 

[Grumpy]

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