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I wish to express that "every single one attempt of mine" did something but in a concise way, without mentioning single. I thought of two possibilities and I wonder which one is stronger:

My every attempt was doomed to fail, since the teacher had already made up her mind.

Every attempt of mine was doomed to fail, since the teacher had already made up her mind.

It seems to me the second is a bit less elegant. Is it just my idea?

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  • "Every my ..." is not grammatical. "My every ..." is grammatical, though it's rather unusual.
    – Rosie F
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 6:21
  • I never heard anyone saying "Every my..." either. My every attempt is the correct version, with an emphasis on every. In this case, Every attempt of mine sounds more coherent to me.
    – lehoang
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 6:24
  • @ kannE: So are you saying doomed is too dramatic and strange here? I am not sure I understand your comment. Is it ridiculous or pedantic? Thank you for the ascending order, that is what I was looking for!
    – fev
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 9:53
  • @KannE: I see, so there is an exaggerated connotation there. You are very right, it is not my intention to exaggerate that meaning. What would you put instead then? is fated any better?
    – fev
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 10:29
  • @ KannE: thank you, that's really encouraging.
    – fev
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 11:00

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It must be reckoned that the first form (my every attempt) is largely in favour since the 1980's, whereas from the 1860's to that date there was no marked preference for either (ngram).
Personally, I don't feel any inclination to use one rather than the other, although I use the second one naturally without thinking of the other one. No criterion of relative elegance seem to impinge on my thinking about those form, but of course I can't pretend to be in possession of all relevant facts necessary for a full appreciation.

If we look a little deeper into the question we find that the ngram finding above does not reflect a universal pattern.

book second form largely dominant
poem second form only
record neither form is used, "all my records" instead
horse only the second form
dog neither form is used, "all my dogs" instead

Those few tests show that in the end the second form is preferred nowadays, but, again, that is not an indubitable proof of superior elegance for the second form.

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  • Thank you for the examples, I hadn't thought of extending it to other nouns. It enlarges the picture and helps me better understand.
    – fev
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 9:09
  • @fev I have no idea of anything else to say or do from here, except, of course, going on with some more testing of the type I started above (to begin with).
    – LPH
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 9:13
  • I am not a native speaker, but I don't think this is too relevant for my inspiration for language elegancy, because I see myself looking for elegant structures and atmosphere of writing in other languages, too. I know what is considered to be elegant can be rather subjective, but I think the atmosphere of a text is truly influenced by one's choice of words. I love this research!
    – fev
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 9:19
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    @fev This is certainly so, the "atmosphere" of a text depends definitely on the choice of words. I find it also quite natural for students of a foreign language to be concerned with style and to reach a point in their progression where their own notions about the language begin to guide their writing. How else could English as a second language have produced writers in the English language such as Conrad, whose English, although slightly unidiomatic, warranted him a prominent place in English literature?
    – LPH
    Commented Dec 9, 2020 at 9:33

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