Hello everyone! I have a question about English.

If I am talking to an audience of many people, which one is acceptable?

"Raise your hand"
"Raise your hands"

If I said "hands", would they raise their two hands?
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Another example:
"They study at a university"
"They study at universities"

If they study at different universities, is only the second sentence acceptable? Can I use the first one?

Question

Hello everyone! I have a question about English.

If I am talking to an audience of many people, which one is acceptable?

"Raise your hand"
"Raise your hands"

If I said "hands", would they raise their two hands?
-------------
Another example:
"They study at a university"
"They study at universities"

If they study at different universities, is only the second sentence acceptable? Can I use the first one?

Answer

“Raise your hand” sounds more natural, neither is weird.
I would say “They study at different universities”. The first sentence implies they study at the same one.

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