[General] I envy your glossy curly hair. ?

Status
Not open for further replies.

maoyueh

Member
Joined
May 28, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Taiwan
Current Location
Taiwan
1. I envy you your glossy curly hair.
2. I envy your glossy curly hair.
3. I envy you for your glossy curly hair.

I know #1 and #3 are correct. But I wonder whether #2 is also correct. I think it might be correct British English because I found some similar sentences in my dictionaries; for example, "I envy your success/your good fortune/your ability to work so fast." Thank you so much.
 

probus

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
To my ear all three are correct, and number 2 is in no way inferior to the others.
 

Roman55

Key Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
France
I am not a teacher.

I wouldn't use #2 myself. I never use 'envy' in that way.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
You will hear things like "I envy your glossy hair" all the time but it actually doesn't make much sense. We envy people because of what they have or what they do. We don't actually envy jobs or hair etc.
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I don't know that I have ever heard hair called "glossy" before.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Really? Shampoo/conditioners advertisers in the UK frequently claim that that will be the result of using their product.
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I'm not exactly up on beauty terms, so my opinion may be of little value in this area. I would expect "shiny" maybe. "Glossy" makes me think of the finish on photos, or perhaps automobile paint.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
I think that all three work.
 

pattyg06

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2015
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Not a teacher.

All three work. Thank you for calling my hair glossy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top