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I wanted to say "Please take a look at the ones with check marks beside them". But I was kind of confused whether it is more correct to say "Please take a look at the ones with a check mark beside them".

Also, would "I've attached the copies of the photos" be more correct than "I've attached a copy of the photos"?

EDIT: Sorry for recycling old questions, but I didn't want to start a new topic...

Can I say "Please find attached the copies of A, B, and C" although A, B, and C are very different? I'm not sure if I can group different things together (I think someone said it is okay to say "this here is your chair and desk" because a chair is very different from a desk, while you have to say "these are your coworkers," since you can't have more than one type of coworker).

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I'd vote for "Please take a look at the ones with a check mark" ("beside them" seems superfluous to me) unless each one has more than a single check mark.

I'd also vote for "I've attached (the) copies of the photos", unless there is only a single document that contains copies of all the photos.

This kind of number concord often causes a problem, e.g.,

They all nodded their head [One head with many bodies?]

or

They all nodded their heads [Each body a hydra (a multiheaded beast)?]

or what? A fan of the singular "they/their/them" might suggest something like this:

Everyone nodded their head.

Sometimes English is intrinsically awkward.

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  • I agree the first two examples both sound ambiguous, but I believe one of them must be academically correct. The second one (heads) I guess.
    – NS.X.
    Commented Apr 15, 2013 at 0:12
  • @NS.X.: In the sexist old days, of course, we'd have said "Everyone nodded his head" (unless they were all female, in which case it'd be "her head"). I'd probably accept "Everyone nodded their head" even though I'm not a fan of the usage: its meaning is clear with "everyone".
    – user264
    Commented Apr 15, 2013 at 0:27
  • @Bill Franke: I've made some edits to my original question. Can you please help?
    – jess
    Commented May 24, 2013 at 2:33
  • @jess: Yes, you can say "Please find attached the copies of A, B, and C". They're all copies that the receiver of the email requested you send, so they all belong to the same category. An easier sentence, perhaps, is "Attached are the copies of A, B, and C that you requested" or "Copies of A, B, and C are attached". Email should be brief & to the point, & to colleagues & coworkers it can be informal, polite, & respectful (2nd & 3rd sentences), but when it's to a superior in your or some other organization, it needs to be more formal (1st sentence), of course.
    – user264
    Commented May 24, 2013 at 2:59
  • @Bill Franke: Ooh, thank you for the distinction between formal and informal sentences. I wonder if "these are your chair and desk" is as correct as "this here is your chair and desk" (from ell.stackexchange.com/questions/6612/…). Is here a reason I should say one thing over the other? Also, can you say "the copies for A, B, and C"?
    – jess
    Commented May 24, 2013 at 12:21

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