one of my legs or eyes got hurt

[tufguy]

Can I say "one of my legs or eyes got hurt"?

 

[Rover_KE]

Can I say "One of my legs or eyes got hurt"?

Only if you can't tell the difference between those two body parts.

Please don't start any more new threads until all your other six open ones have been resolved. There are other people who need our help.

 

[Raymott]

I could have sworn he's been told numerous times not to use "or" like this. No one else does it.

tufguy, it's always going to be wrong.

 

[Tdol]

Can I say "one of my legs or eyes got hurt"?

Do you have any reason to say this? It is a very weird sentence.

 

[tufguy]

Do you have any reason to say this? It is a very weird sentence.

No, I was wondering whether we can say anything like this for paired organs like eyes, hands, legs. So I just need to say "My left leg is hurting". Am I correct?

 

[GoesStation]

No, I was wondering whether we can say anything like this for paired organs like eyes, hands, legs. So I just need to say "My left leg is hurting". Am I correct?

You could say One of my eyes is hurting or One of my legs is hurting. You can't reasonably say One of my eyes or legs is hurting.

 

[emsr2d2]

Tufguy, do you understand why no one would ever say "One of my eyes or legs got hurt"?

 

[tufguy]

Tufguy, do you understand why no one would ever say "One of my eyes or legs got hurt"?

Okay, I can say "one of my legs got hurt" but not "one of my legs or eyes got hurt". Did I get that right?

 

[GoesStation]

Tufguy, do you understand why no one would ever say "One of my eyes or legs got hurt"?

The answer to this question has to do with how punctuation works.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm still not convinced that you understand why no one would say "One of my eyes or legs got hurt". Why do you think it's wrong? Here's a hint - it's not a grammar problem, it's a logic problem.

 

[Rover_KE]

... and there's a clue in post #2.

 

[Tarheel]

Do you have any reason to say this? It is a very weird sentence.

Yes, but that's what we've come to expect.
;-)

 

[GoesStation]

Yes, but that's what we've come to expect.
;-)

Tufguy has sometime come up with some odd scenarios, but in this case, it's purely accidental. The sentence is bizarre because it's not punctuated right.

Tufguy, you really have made progress over the years. I think you can improve a lot more if you read and follow our advice.

 

[tufguy]

Tufguy has sometime come up with some odd scenarios, but in this case, it's purely accidental. The sentence is bizarre because it's not punctuated right.

Tufguy, you really have made progress over the years. I think you can improve a lot more if you read and follow our advice.

But it would be correct to say "one of my legs got hurt" or "one of my eyes got hurt". Am I correct?

 

[GoesStation]

But it would be correct to say "one of my legs got hurt" or "one of my eyes got hurt". Am I correct?

Yes. And that's a good way to write the question.

 

[Tarheel]

A: I hurt my leg.
B: Which one?
A: The left leg.
B: Is it serious?
A: No, I think it's just a sprain.

If a person says "one of my legs got hurt" it indicates he doesn't know which one was injured. The above conversation is more natural.

 

[Skrej]

Perhaps the speaker is some sort of insect - millipede, fly, spider, etc. With that many legs and eyes, it might be difficult to ascertain which one is throwing off the odd twinge.

 

[Raymott]

Sure, but he's not an insect. And tufguy has not answered emsr2d2's question. And he won't.

 

[emsr2d2]

Tufguy, do you understand why no one would ever say "One of my eyes or legs got hurt"?

I'm going to have one more try. Tufguy, please answer my question. If you don't at least make an attempt to answer it, I'm probably not going to reply to any more of your threads.

 

[Tarheel]

But it would be correct to say "One of my legs got hurt" or "One of my eyes got hurt"?

The grammar is fine. However, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which somebody would say that.