both and same

sheikh radlinrol · Post by **sheikh radlinrol** » Sun May 13, 2007 2:20 pm

I've just come across this example on p39 of ''Straightforward'' (intermediate) by Philip Kerr and Ceri Jones.

They both had the same number of children.

Surely this isn't correct! It's enough to say ''They had the same number of children''. Or you might say ''They both had three children''.
But both and same in one sentence?

Buddhaheart · Post by **Buddhaheart** » Sun May 13, 2007 5:08 pm

“Both” seems redundant here. I believe it is commonly used for emphasis.

What exactly is your objection to having both ‘both’ & ‘same’ in the same sentence? Why replacing the adjective ‘same’ with a definite number like ‘three’ makes so much difference to you? Is it wordiness that bothers you?

sheikh radlinrol · Post by **sheikh radlinrol** » Sun May 13, 2007 7:45 pm

Thanks for the reply Buddha. Maybe it's just emphasis but I still think the example I cited sounds clumsy and incorrect.

Jimbobob · Post by **Jimbobob** » Mon May 14, 2007 1:23 am

Nothing sounds out of the ordinary to me in your example. Sure it might be a tad redundant, but it sounds just as correct to me, as say...

They had the same number of children
They both had X children

When said out loud, stressing either 'both' or 'same' could be used to place emphasis on a certain point the speaker was making. But w/out the emphasis on either word, to me it has the exact same meaning as the above two examples.