jays
Joined: 13 Oct 2005
Posts: 221
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 Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:33 am Post subject: Not everyone can laugh at themselves. |
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Question 1 I want to know the meaning of "Not everyone can laugh at themselves."
Question 2 In the above sentence, does "themselves' mean "everyone" or other? If it means "everyone," how can "themselves" usually meaning plural mean "oneself" usually meaning singular? |
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Lorikeet
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 1877
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 10:00 am Post subject: Re: Not everyone can laugh at themselves. |
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| jays wrote: |
Question 1 I want to know the meaning of "Not everyone can laugh at themselves."
Question 2 In the above sentence, does "themselves' mean "everyone" or other? If it means "everyone," how can "themselves" usually meaning plural mean "oneself" usually meaning singular? |
You are asking a good question, jays. Technically, "everyone" is singular. In American English, we don't usually use "oneself" because it sounds so formal, and it is usually used with "one" anyway, for example:
If one can laugh at oneself, one has a better chance at a happy life.
The old "rule" said when you didn't know whether you were talking about a man or a woman, you should use "himself" for example:
Not everyone can laugh at himself.
However, it has become politically incorrect, as using "himself" makes it seem that it only applies to men. Therefore, some people use "himself or herself" or "him or herself" to show it can be either a man or a woman, for example:
Not everyone can laugh at him or herself.
All of that said, the most common way to say this in American English is to use "themselves" with everyone, even though it's "incorrect." Another way is to eliminate the use of "everyone" and use "people" instead. For example:
Not all people can laugh at themselves.
This is, of course, my opinion. Someone else may have another one for a different variety of English.
As for the meaning, if you can laugh at yourself, you can see some humor in how you are and what you do. You don't take yourself too seriously. It can make life easier if you can laugh at yourself. |
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