Grammatically correct question, please.

[snooper]

Which is it from the 2 lines below?

the doubt we all have in our head

or

the doubt we all have in our heads

and what is the ruling behind it please.

Thank you.

[Quizmonster]

Most people would opt for heads here on the basis that it is usual for the subject of a sentence and its verb to agree as regards number...ie is it singular or plural? We and our are certainly plural, so heads should also be, they would say.
However, here's a recent headline from The Times...
"Science finds why our heart rules our head", so - despite the our - heart and head are singular! If the Times can use it, so can you...there is no 'ruling'.

[Quizmonster]

I was wrong to refer to the agreement of subject and verb in my earlier answer; I should rather have spoken about the agreement of nouns and their accompanying pronouns and possessives as regards number.

[tearinghair]

I agree that most people would go for the plural 'heads', for the reasons that Quizmonster has outlined.

Incidentally French would normally use the singular, on the grounds that each of us has only one head. Logical, but the English seems more natural.

[rojash]

"on the grounds that each of us has only one head"
But the phrase was not "the doubt we EACH have...", it was "the doubt we ALL have", so unless we all share a single head, it's logical to use heads.

I also don't see much merit in QM's argument that simply because one of Rupert Murdoch's subeditors used a particular phrase, it follows that it's acceptable English usage.

[carmalee]

have just asked my English Prof. niece and await her reply. Not saying this will be the difinite answer though!

[Ice.Maiden]

The second one, because "we" and "our" being in the plural, makes the noun at the end a plural as well (heads).

[Quizmonster]

Rojash, I didn't offer the Times headline illustration because I have any axe to grind for Rupert Murdoch or his minions, but simply to illustrate the point that there <u<are people who happily use "our head" in preference to "our heads". Accordingly, I could see no reason why the questioner here should be barred from doing the same.
Usage is king, whatever hidebound grammarians or pedants claim. Putting "our heart" into the Google search-slot produces about three million hits, so it ain't just old Rupe and me!

I never cease to be amazed that there are still so many people around who imagine there is only one form of "acceptable" English.

[rojash]

Dear QM, I wasn't saying "This is wrong - this is right" but merely offering my humble opinion. As you say, there isn't a single acceptable form of English, and so one would believe that we all have a right to offer our opinions, together with the logic which we used to arrive at them.

I've twice posted complimentary comments about you, so I'm sure you'll forgive me when I say that you do seem to get a bit sulky if anyone has the temerity to disagree with you.

[carmalee]

Ooh. Interesting.

The answer is I don't know for sure - but I think that I would go with heads (short of scrapping the sentence altogether and talking about the collective sense of doubt), purely because if it a communal doubt then it is contained in different heads regardless of the fact that it is the same doubt.

But that's not really to do with grammar as much as common sense, and I don't think either sentence is horribly incorrect. But don't quote me, grammar is tricksy like that and there are millions of rules I - answer re my previous post.

[Quizmonster]

1. Dear Rojash, I have nothing but respect for you and I am sure I must have thanked you when you did offer me kind comments. There was no element of 'sulking' in my response above, but - when someone says he does not "see much merit" in my case - I do feel bound to reply.

2. I guess that Times sub-editors, of all people, are familiar with The Times Guide to English Style and Usage, which is highly-regarded throughout journalism and beyond, so there can't be that much wrong with the headline.

3. The same applies when people speak of 'correct' or 'acceptable' English...and my God don't we see enough of that on AnswerBank! We none of us have the slightest notion of the context in which the questioner plans to use the phrase concerned and - as far as correctness in language is concerned - context and register are everything.

4. Putting my points in Paras 2 and 3 above - headline and acceptability - together, I still maintain that the singular noun 'head' is perfectly OK. I have no objection whatsoever to your disagreeing with that!

Cheers