[General] ...improve your life...

[rodgers white]

Hi there. In class, I always tell my students the following sentence. Would you please proofread it? Any help would be appreciated.

********************************************************************

Hi guys. Learning English can be used as a launching pad to improve your life or give you a beneficial experience.

********************************************************************

By the way, can I say: Hi guys. Learning English can be used as a launching pad to improve your lives or give you beneficial experiences. Sometimes I really feel confused about how to use 'life' and 'lives' properly. I find the following two sentences:

If we can't stop people from becoming disabled, we can always improve their lives. --- time.com
To help others is to do something that will improve their life. --- learning.blogs.nytimes.com

 

[Tarheel]

Isn't improving your life in itself a beneficial experience?

More than one life is, of course, lives.

 

[tedmc]

You are free to choose using singular or plural, as long as it is consistent.

 

[rodgers white]

You are free to choose using singilar or plural, as long as it is consistent.

Can you elaborate it a bit more? Thanks.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Can you [STRIKE]guys[/STRIKE] elaborate it a bit more? Thanks.

Are you asking why both are used? When I put the word your or their in front of it, it seems to me that it's countable, so I pluralize it. But that's my choice. Lots of people always treat it as uncountable. That's their choice.

Or are you asking why you should be consistent? It's easier to understand people who stick to one set of rules. Up above, I underlined two words. If I had used italics or boldface, it would have meant the same thing. I could have said "you or their." So why didn't I? Because then you would have wondered what the difference was. It would have been confusing.

PS - We're not all guys here! It's fine to treat guys as gender-nonneutral when you're hanging out with your friends, but some people will question your manners or brains if you use publicly.

 

[rodgers white]

Thank you so much for reminding me. For us, it is difficult to use some words properly, especially ones connected with cultural things. They're complicated. Thank you again for your kindness. It can help us avoid causing embarassment in the future.

PS - I have deleted 'guys' in Post #4.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thank you so much for reminding me. For us, it is difficult to use some words properly, especially ones connected with cultural things. They're complicated. Thank you again for your kindness. It can help us avoid causing embarassment in the future.

PS - I have deleted 'guys' in Post #4.

No problem! As I said, when you're among friends, it's fine to use whatever words and expressions you're all comfortable with. In public, it's good to be aware of different attitudes.

I've certainly been guilty of a lot of bloopers. That's life!