ChatterBank0 min ago
to do with as he wishes
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Would you explain grammatically the phrase "to do with as he wishe" in the following sentence .
No mattter how wrongful it may seem to you, another's heart is his or hers to do with as he wishes as he finds he can.
No mattter how wrongful it may seem to you, another's heart is his or hers to do with as he wishes as he finds he can.
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It means 'Whatever you think, other people are free to go their own way and act however they like in matters of love.'
The heart is supposed to be the seat of our emotions and feelings and these are the concern of no one but the person involved. If it had said money instead of heart, it would just mean that the person could spend it however he/she wished without reference to anyone else.
The heart is supposed to be the seat of our emotions and feelings and these are the concern of no one but the person involved. If it had said money instead of heart, it would just mean that the person could spend it however he/she wished without reference to anyone else.
In grammatical terms, one can avoid the need to repeat he/she or his/hers structures by using the plural they/their, despite the fact that 'another' here is strictly singular.
Thus, "No matter how wrongful it may seem to you, another's heart is theirs to do with as they wish or as they find they can." Alternatively, you could make it all plural by writing, "No matter how wrongful it may seem to you, others' hearts are..."
Technically, words such as anyone, everybody, nobody and one etc are singular, so some claim they should not be followed by plural forms such as they, them and their. However, this �rule' has been consistently flouted for centuries by quality writers using such phrases as "Nobody in their senses would..." rather than "Nobody in his senses would..." or - even worse - "Nobody in his or her senses would..."
This is because the idea of plurality is actually contained in these indefinite pronouns. It also gets around the problem that there is no genderless way of referring simply to both male and female persons in such structures. If we did not use "their", we would be obliged constantly to say "his or her", which is clumsy. These pluralised forms are here to stay and regarded as perfectly acceptable now.
Thus, "No matter how wrongful it may seem to you, another's heart is theirs to do with as they wish or as they find they can." Alternatively, you could make it all plural by writing, "No matter how wrongful it may seem to you, others' hearts are..."
Technically, words such as anyone, everybody, nobody and one etc are singular, so some claim they should not be followed by plural forms such as they, them and their. However, this �rule' has been consistently flouted for centuries by quality writers using such phrases as "Nobody in their senses would..." rather than "Nobody in his senses would..." or - even worse - "Nobody in his or her senses would..."
This is because the idea of plurality is actually contained in these indefinite pronouns. It also gets around the problem that there is no genderless way of referring simply to both male and female persons in such structures. If we did not use "their", we would be obliged constantly to say "his or her", which is clumsy. These pluralised forms are here to stay and regarded as perfectly acceptable now.
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