ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: have vs has question

CalifJim — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:50:12 GMT

Anonymous
An enemy that is being detained does not (have/has) any rights.
Have = plural
has = singular
Does the -have- refer to the rights or the enemy as the subject?

The question is not whether to use has or have, because have is used after both does and do. The question is whether to use does or do.

Except for the items in bold, the words are the same in either case.

An ( 1 ) enemy ( 1 ) [ that is ( 1 ) being detained ] does ( 1 ) not have any rights.

Enemies ( >1 ) [ that are ( >1 ) being detained ] do ( >1 ) not have any rights.

Re: have vs has question

CalifJim — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:42:30 GMT

Anonymous
what is the difference in between these:
1. An enemy that is detained
2. An enemy that is being detained

2. focuses more on an enemy in the process of being detained.

Re: have vs has question

Anonymous — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:43:47 GMT

Okay, I think I understand now.

Yes, that sentence is inaccurate. I did not want to put the exact sentence that I have in my essay on this site for plagiarism reasons

(Legally speaking, enemy combatants do have rights. In practice, however, that is another story.) :)

Thanks for the help Clive.

Re: have vs has question

Clive — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:21:11 GMT

Hi,

An enemy that is being detained does not (have/has) any rights. The writer of this sentence needs to have a look at the Geneva Conventions.

Have = plural

has = singular The inflection is in the auxiliary 'does'. Use 'have ' as the base verb..

Does the -have- refer to the rights or the enemy as the subject? The subject is 'an enemy'.

Also my second question, what is the difference in

1. An enemy that is detained When they catch him, 'he is detained (by his captors)'. After that, he is in a state of 'being detained'.

2. An enemy that is being detained

Best wishes, Clive

have vs has question

Anonymous — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:12:19 GMT

An enemy that is being detained does not (have/has) any rights.

Have = plural

has = singular

Does the -have- refer to the rights or the enemy as the subject?

Also my second question, what is the difference in

1. An enemy that is detained

2. An enemy that is being detained

Thank you!