our life or our lives

Status
Not open for further replies.

philipwei

Member
Joined
May 17, 2006
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
The noun "life" is both countable and uncountable. However, it is hard to know when it is countable and when it is uncountable. The dictionaries seldom give any clear explanations. Can any of you show clearly when to use which?

e.g., Laughter is an important part of our lives.
Can we say: Laughter is an improtant part of our life.?
 

colloquium

Senior Member
Joined
May 28, 2008
Member Type
English Teacher
Well, strictly speaking our means belonging to us and refers to more than one person; when speaking of more than one person, you are always speaking of more than one life.

Therefore "Laughter is an important part of our lives." is the correct version.

However if two people share a special bond (husband & wife, lovers, family members, etc.) I think it is possible for them to use the singular version to imply that their lives are closely related. Though I'm not 100% sure that I'm correct.

I am interested to see what others think of this.

A more general alternative is: laughter is an important part of life.

I'm not a teacher.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top