[Grammar] lose hair/ lose one's hair

[maoyueh]

1. People lose hair every day, don't they?
2. People lose their hair every day, don't they?

Which of the above sentences is correct and natural? Thank you.

 

[Route21]

As an NES but not a teacher:

I believe #1 is correct and natural. It suggests that people lose some hair every day.

#2 could be interpreted as suggesting that people lose all their hair every day - which they don't.

Regards
R21

 

[Raymott]

2. could also mean that every day, some person loses their hair - ie. that it's not an uncommon event.

"People have car accidents every day." = "Every day, at least one person has a car accident."

 

[maoyueh]

2. could also mean that every day, some person loses their hair - ie. that it's not an uncommon event.

"People have car accidents every day." = "Every day, at least one person has a car accident."

Hi Raymott,

Thank you for your insight, but I'm sorry I don't quite see your point, because the phrase "not an uncommon event" means "a common event." Do you mean that sentence 2 is also correct and natural? Thanks a lot.
Regards,
maoyueh

 

[Raymott]

Hi Raymott,

Thank you for your insight, but I'm sorry I don't quite see your point, because the phrase "not an uncommon event" means "a common event." Do you mean that sentence 2 is also correct and natural? Thanks a lot.
Regards,
maoyueh

2. could work.

A: Ack, I'm losing my hair!
B: That's life. People lose their hair every day at our age.

"not an uncommon event" means "a common event." - debatable. I probably wouldn't have written "not uncommon" if "common" was just as good. "Not uncommon" means that it's not rare, that it does happen. Something that happens "not uncommonly" happens less commonly than something that happens "commonly. Perhaps that's not quite logical, but it's the usage.
The same applies to most "not un-" constructions. "She's not unattractive" means that you don't quite want to commit yourself to the claim that she's really attractive.
It's not unusual to see this construction, and it would be wrong to simply cancel out the "not un-" part of it. Sometimes, the difference is more pronounced.

 

[curmudgeon]

Don't lose your hair over it