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Better Person vs Better Persons

English Language & Usage Asked by VKBoy on January 16, 2021

Is it grammatically correct to say…

He makes others want to be a better person.

If so, what about…

He makes others want to be better persons.

This sounds a bit off to me, but it seems grammatically correct. If I use ‘better people‘ instead, it’s sounding much off by becoming somewhat distant/impersonal, so I’m not considering that.

If both ways are correct, what’s the difference?

One Answer

I think that grammatically it is better to say

He makes others want to be better persons (although people would be more common).

Others and persons are connected to each other and should be both in the plural: The others will be better persons/people

However, the established idiom is to be a better person and the link gives other possible versions of it. I think you can avoid your problem by saying:

He makes one want to be a better person.

Correct answer by fev on January 16, 2021

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