all your life/lives

[joham]

I sincerely wish you all healthy and happy all your life/lives!

Are life and lives both OK in this sentence? Which of them is better?

Thank you in advance.

 

[joham]

I searched the COCA, and found there are far more of "all our lives ." than "all our life ." (98:2). I'd like to know if 'I sincerely wish you all healthy and happy all your life' is OK too.

Thank you again.

 

[Rover_KE]

No—it's not grammatical.

Consider

'I sincerely wish you all health and happiness throughout your lives'.

'I sincerely wish you all healthy and happy lives.'

Rover

 

[joham]

Many thanks, Rover. Then you're saying that 'I sincerely wish you healthy and happy all your lives' is right, and 'I sincerely wish you all healthy and happy all your life' is not grammatical, aren't you?
I'd like to make sure I understand your answer and make no mistake about it. Thank you again.

 

[5jj]

Many thanks, Rover. Then you're saying that 'I sincerely wish you healthy and happy all your lives' is right, and 'I sincerely wish you all healthy and happy all your life' is not grammatical, aren't you?

Both of those are incorrect. Read Rover's post again.

 

[joham]

Thank you very much again. The word 'life' has been a big headache for me. By the way, if we simply say 'I sincerely wish you all happy' without 'all your life/lives' at the end of the sentence, then it is correct, isn't it, as in:

[h=3]Boswell's Life of Johnson: 第 3 卷 - 第 38 页[/h]

books.google.com.hkJames Boswell, George Birkbeck Hill - 2006 - 396 页 - 部分预览 'The difference with Lord Auchinleck is now over; and since young Alexander[247] has appeared, I hope no more difficulties will arise among you; for I sincerely wish you all happy. Do not teach the young ones to dislike me, ...

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you very much again. The word 'life' has been a big headache for me. By the way, if we simply say 'I sincerely wish you all happy' without 'all your life/lives' at the end of the sentence, then it is correct, isn't it, as in:

James Boswell, George Birkbeck Hill - 2006 - 396 页 -

No, that's not correct.

I sincerely wish you all health and happiness for the rest of your lives.
I wish you health and happiness for the rest of your lives.
I hope you will all be healthy and happy for the rest of your lives.

What is the particular problem you have with the noun "life"?

 

[joham]

Many thanks, emsr. After I read these postings of you and other teachers' here, and the similar threads below I got a lot clearer about the usage of life.

 

[Rover_KE]

Boswell's Life of Johnson was written in 1791.

We don't say 'I wish you all happy' these days.

Rover