Tuesday, May 1, 2012

word choice - A question about the use of "everywhere" in the sentence




Recently I've stumbled upon this sentence on the internet:




Home is everywhere your heart is.




Somehow it doesn't seem right to me. If I had to convey the same meaning, I would write something like this:





Home is wherever your heart is.




Or this:




Home is everywhere where your heart is.




Could you please clarify whether I'm right or not.



Answer



The definition of everywhere permits the first example of the OP:




adverb



1.0 In or to all places:
I’ve looked everywhere
everywhere she went she was feted








The definition of wherever includes the second example:




relative adverb



1.0 In or to whatever place (emphasizing a lack of restriction):
meet me wherever you like



1.1 In all places; regardless of where:








Where is used as a relative adverb as suggested by the third example:




2.0 The place or situation in which:
this is where I live








All four of the following constructions would be grammatically acceptable with slightly different nuances. The first would be idiomatic, while the fourth would be slightly redundant:





  • Home is where the heart is.
    Meaning: Home is the place in which the heart is.

  • Home is wherever the heart is.
    Meaning: Home is in whatever place the heart is.

  • Home is everywhere the heart is.
    Meaning: Home is in all places the heart is.

  • Home is everywhere where the heart is.
    Meaning: Home is in all places where the heart is.





If the original author intended to emphasize all places, then everywhere is the right selection.


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