German uses a singular noun whereas english uses plural noun

Question

Reading Hammer's grammar and usage 4th edition, Page 30.

It's says that german uses a singular noun if more than one person is mentioned in the sense of items of clothing or parts of the body.

Hammer gives an example , "Ihnen klopfte das Herz" meaning "their hearts were beating".

Are there any other resources that could expand on this aspect of german?

Are there any exceptions to this rule ?

Answer 1

The assumption

German uses a singular noun if more than one person is mentioned in the sense of items of clothing or parts of the body

is wrong. At least if you interpret it as an absolute proposition. Here are some counterexamples:

• In catholic masses there is a liturgic formula spoken by the priest:

  Erhebet die Herzen! (English: Lift up your hearts!; Latin: Sursum corda!)

• Bible, Lukas 21:28:

  Wenn aber dies anfängt zu geschehen, so richtet euch auf und erhebt eure Häupter, weil eure Erlösung naht.

• And of coarse you also find a lot of examples in the internet:

  • Zeigt her eure Nasen!
    ^{weekly magazine Brigitte}
  • Warum haben Männer größere Nasen als Frauen?
    ^{German edition of National Geographic}
  • Indische Springameisen schrumpfen ihre Gehirne
    ^{monthly magazine GEO}
  • Teenager verbrennen absichtlich ihre Zungen
    ^{daily newspaper heute}
  • Warum messen Jungs ihre Penise?
    ^{question&answer board gutefrage.net}

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Fact is, that in German we use both forms. Both forms are correct but the meaning differs in small nuances:

• Singular

  Ihnen klopfte das Herz.

  Here you claim that the heart of every single person beats. You put the focus on the fact that everybody has just one heart. And this single and therefor precious heart was beating.

• Plural

  Ihnen klopften die Herzen.

  Here you say, that everybody's heart was beating. You put the focus on the fact, that this is something that happens with all hearts.

So, you use singular, when you want to point out that the owner's relationship to their singular organ is important and you use plural if it's important that something happens to everybody.