Question

Updated on 1 Mar 2020

24 Feb 2020

Japanese

English (US)

Question about English (US)

Which is correct grammatically?
1. The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's lives in many countries.
2. The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's life in many countries.

Is there any difference between lives and life? I think lives would be better because there are different lives in one country.

Answers

CraigStudiesRussian

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

1 is correct. people's lives

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cptjackloder

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

1.

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redtsuru

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

We say: virus (not plural)

The corona virus ( no plural) outbreak is affecting people’s LIVES in many countries NOW.

You can also say:

The coronavirus outbreak affects the LIVES of many people in many countries.

also
The coronavirus is currently threatening the lives of many people in many countries.

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cptjackloder

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

@redtsuru good catch, missed the plural.

However you could keep the plural and drop the "the"

"The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's lives in many countries"

It depends on the context of the sentence and what exactly the speaker is referring to.

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redtsuru

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

As far as we know there is only ONE coronavirus
that is causing the current serious health crisis worldwide.

So it should stay as singular to be accurate.

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cptjackloder

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

You can't claim accuracy without knowing the target. If the speaker is writing about the many coronaviruses that are around the world (I can name 4 off the top of my head) then it is a more accurate and valid sentence

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redtsuru

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

Well actually - there are tons of coronaviruses - that’s nothing new AND
That’s not the issue.

There is ONE coronavirus that is causing the current health crisis according to CDC etc.

They are testing for that ONE.

It’s just the facts as we know them currently.

Currently people are writing the coronavirus.

It may be as time goes on that we will
( hopefully) know more information about THIS specific virus
- it is named COVID- 19
It is a novel coronavirus.

The only outbreak worldwide that is causing trouble is COVID-19
It is a NEW virus not previously identified in humans.

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cptjackloder

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

I currently have the Common Cold, a coronvirus
MERS has been around since 2012 and has been reported on as recently as January
SARS is still a thing

Maybe this Japanese speaker is doing a report on corona viruses, or is on a school assignment. Or making a YouTube video about the larger issue. You do not know the context.

Both versions of the statement are correct, we have provided context for both. The plural version is not less "accurate" becuase of what you saw on the news.

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redtsuru

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

The context is very clear- it is the CURRENT coronavirus outbreak ( there ain’t no other!)
And that involves ONE coronavirus (COVID-19)

There is no other world wide coronavirus crisis going on that is threatening people’s lives.

It’s completely straightforward.

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cptjackloder

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

The speaker does not say current

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redtsuru

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

Hello Yasshy -

Are you writing about the CURRENT world wide health crisis?

If SO - you need to write: CORONAVIRUS ( no S, no plural, no coronaviruses)

We write CORONAVIRUS - singular
BECAUSE
there is only ONE coronavirus causing the current
worldwide health crisis.

It even has a name: COVID-19

******
Ps - I’m a physician. I know about these things.

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cptjackloder

24 Feb 2020

English (US)

You know even if he did mean the current one I'm no less right, right?

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Yasshy

24 Feb 2020

Japanese

I did not think there would be such a passionate argument. I am not a native English speaker, so your discussion is beyond my understanding.
I just wanted to know which is correct, lives and life. Regarding the coronavirus, I thought there is a large number of coronaviruses going around. So I wrote the term as a plural.

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Which is correct grammatically?
1. The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's lives in many countries.
2. The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's life in many countries.

Which is correct grammatically?1. The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's lives in many countries.2. The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's life in many countries. See a translation

1 is correct. people's lives

1.

We say: virus (not plural)The corona virus ( no plural) outbreak is affecting people’s LIVES in many countries NOW.You can also say:The coronavirus outbreak affects the LIVES of many people in many countries.alsoThe coronavirus is currently threatening the lives of many people in many countries.

@redtsuru good catch, missed the plural.However you could keep the plural and drop the "the""The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's lives in many countries"It depends on the context of the sentence and what exactly the speaker is referring to.

As far as we know there is only ONE coronavirus that is causing the current serious health crisis worldwide.So it should stay as singular to be accurate.

You can't claim accuracy without knowing the target. If the speaker is writing about the many coronaviruses that are around the world (I can name 4 off the top of my head) then it is a more accurate and valid sentence

The context is very clear- it is the CURRENT coronavirus outbreak ( there ain’t no other!)And that involves ONE coronavirus (COVID-19)There is no other world wide coronavirus crisis going on that is threatening people’s lives.It’s completely straightforward.

The speaker does not say current

You know even if he did mean the current one I'm no less right, right?

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Which is correct grammatically?
1. The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's lives in many countries.
2. The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's life in many countries.

@redtsuru good catch, missed the plural.

However you could keep the plural and drop the "the"

"The outbreak of the corona viruses affects people's lives in many countries"

It depends on the context of the sentence and what exactly the speaker is referring to.

As far as we know there is only ONE coronavirus
that is causing the current serious health crisis worldwide.

So it should stay as singular to be accurate.

The context is very clear- it is the CURRENT coronavirus outbreak ( there ain’t no other!)
And that involves ONE coronavirus (COVID-19)

There is no other world wide coronavirus crisis going on that is threatening people’s lives.

It’s completely straightforward.