grammar question

[Jack]

When sending an email to a person and CCing it to another person, wishing that the upcoming summer is great for both of them, do you say

"May you both have a great summer!"
(my first instinct)

OR

"May you both have great summers!"
(my second instinct)

...considering that they will be in different places doing different things?

The problem I see is that I can't get around having more than one summer, but at the same time they're not the same person so in a way there will be two different summers for them.

Thoughts?

[emmline]

Go colloquial: Have a great summer guys!

[Jack]

Go colloquial: Have a great summer guys!

I can't, really.

Did you pick "Other?"

[chas]

If you say both, I think it could go either way. Gramatically, I think if you say both, summer should be plural. OTOH, summer is a season, and this year, technically there is only one summer in the northern hemisphere.

The best solution might be to say, "May you each have a good summer." There's nothing ambiguous in that case.

[emmline]

Go colloquial: Have a great summer guys!

I can't, really.

Did you pick "Other?"

yes.

[Innocent Bystander]

If they are different people, to whom your address is fortuitously collective, then it might perhaps be better:

"May you each have a great summer!"

If they are a couple and likely to spend the summer togetther, then

"May you both have a great summer!" ("together" being understood.)

This is one of those instances where the Creole origins of the English Language become apparent, as the grammatical rules of one main original strand are not the same as the grammatical rules of the other. Basically, you pays your money and you takes your choice, running the risk of being labelled as either vulgar or pedantic.

But I would not wish people "great summers" as that would imply that you might not see them for several years. While this may be true, it may also be tactless.

The main grammatical difference between English and other languages as a general approach, is that a native English speaker typically responds to the sense rather than the grammar.
If you ask the question "Did you not know the man?" in (say) German or Japanese, there response is liable to be
"Yes, I did not know the man."
In English, it is
"No, I did not know the man."
So as long as your greeting is unambiguous - and that it an achievement in itself - then don't worry about the grammatical rules.

I'd be inclined to say (with an Irish accent)
"Have a great summer, the pair of yez!"
I bet Redwolf could render it in proper Irish. And of course, you have the Buckskin: "Have a great summer, y'all". (Buckskin as opposed to Yankee, which I'm told are the proper terms. A Yankee, of course, would not wish anybody anything.)

[FJohnSharp]

If you're emailing one person and copying the other, you are really only addressing the first, and the second is an onlooker. It should be singular. If you want to include both, both need to be in the 'To:' address

[amar]

I went for: may you both have a great summer, it just feels more correct.

[Jack]

If you're emailing one person and copying the other, you are really only addressing the first, and the second is an onlooker.

Oh?

I didn't know that.

[dfernandez77]

FJohn is correct.

I was wondering when someone would pick up on that.

[Jack]

Why is it like that?

[emmline]

If you're emailing one person and copying the other, you are really only addressing the first, and the second is an onlooker.

Oh?

I didn't know that.

That's true if you cc, but it could just as easily be sent to multiple addresses as a group mailing.

[dfernandez77]

Why is it like that?

Ancient letter writing convention.

When you typed a letter on a typewriter, and wanted to keep a copy, you would use something called carbon paper and place a blank sheet behind it.

The strike of the typewriter key was strong enough to impress some of the "carbon" from the carbon paper onto the second (and sometimes third) sheet.

When doing this with the intent to send a copy to another individual, you would notate at the bottom of the letter "cc: Jolene Smith" (using the name of the person who would get a copy).

This was to give notice to the addressee of the original letter that a copy was going to someone else. "cc:" = "carbon copy"

[izzarina]

I think the biggest point here is that regardless of where they are spending their summer, it will be the same summer, unless of course one of them is going to be time traveling and will be spending his or her vacation in the summer of 1261. If you were going to refer to it as summerS, then you'd also have to say things such as "May you both enjoy your Forth of July's" or "May you both have fun at your Christmases", etc. Now, if you were to say "I hope that you both have great birthdays" that would be correct because they are not celebrating the same birthDAY. Conversely, you could tell Weeks and I to have a great birthday because we share the same day of our birth, and despite our ages and geographic location, the date is the same.

I'm sure that there is a technical term for all of this, but I can't think of what it would be. But I hope I made at least a bit of sense

[Jack]

Why is it like that?

Ancient letter writing convention.

When you typed a letter on a typewriter, and wanted to keep a copy, you would use something called carbon paper and place a blank sheet behind it.

The strike of the typewriter key was strong enough to impress some of the "carbon" from the carbon paper onto the second (and sometimes third) sheet.

When doing this with the intent to send a copy to another individual, you would notate at the bottom of the letter "cc: Jolene Smith" (using the name of the person who would get a copy).

This was to give notice to the addressee of the original letter that a copy was going to someone else. "cc:" = "carbon copy"

That's interesting. It certainly isn't done that way anymore. I get emails all the time with my address in the CC box, even though the intent is clearly not to simply send me a copy. I send them that way as well.