Search results for 'tag:Articles tag:Singular verbs' matching tags 'Articles' and 'Singular verbs'

Re: Subject-Verb Agreement: Have been vs. has been

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:43:26 GMT

Marius Hancu wrote:
Seven years -> have

but you'll see both.

However:

It's going to be the best Christmas ever because this year I have done everything myself and the horrible atmosphere of the last seven years has lifted.

I agree with Marius. In English the grammatical number of the subject is often of no significance. When the idea of a whole or a period of time is more important, a singular verb or even an indefinite article with a plural is often used:

Ten dollars is not enough.
He spent a happy five days in Phuket.

CB

Re: one or two was

Avangi — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:33:20 GMT

Hoa Thai wrote:
Hi all,

After hours scanning through hundreds of hits on the Internet, I finally found an article at http://www.proofreadnow.com/grammarrules.html . Here is an extract:

"More than one can only be plural in meaning but nevertheless often takes a singular verb, either modifying a noun or standing alone: More than one child was crying; More than one was crying. This and similar illogical uses (such as One or two was hostile) are idioms."

Best,
Hoa Thai

Wow! "Seek and ye shall find." I think I may need to revise my understanding of "idiom." I can accept it as embracing "More than one was crying," which I think is the only way to say it, but I can't accept, "One or two was hostile." I'd call that "colloquial", or BAD English. I've never heard an educated person say such a thing, and I've been around a long time.

Rgdz, - A. (Woops! I'm not supposed to do that.)

Re: one or two was

Hoa Thai — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:38:40 GMT

Hi all,

After hours scanning through hundreds of hits on the Internet, I finally found an article at http://www.proofreadnow.com/grammarrules.html . Here is an extract:

"More than one can only be plural in meaning but nevertheless often takes a singular verb, either modifying a noun or standing alone: More than one child was crying; More than one was crying. This and similar illogical uses (such as One or two was hostile) are idioms."

Best,
Hoa Thai

Re: The and the

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:58:43 GMT

Hi,

Did you correctly use the singular verb here? Is that allowed because one person assumes the both positions?

... the chairman and managing director gives the presentation.

In your opinion, why the sentce below is valid in that 'the' can be shared eventhough the positions 'president' and 'managing director' are assumed by different people; whereas the above situation doesn't allow for a shared article? (Is this question correctly written with a semicolon??)

The presentation was given by the president and managing director.

Re: One of the ... that ...

Zj.frank — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:37:23 GMT

Tanit wrote:

Hi, good question!

I was wandering whether a slightly different point of view exists as for the subject of the sentence:
He is one [of the few] that knows the solution to the problem.
or
He is one of the few that know the solution to the problem.

After some research, I came across this:

"one of those who. Constructions such as one of those people who pose a different problem. Many people argue that who should be followed by a plural verb in these sentences, as in He is one of those people who just donât take ânoâ for an answer. Their thinking is that the relative pronoun who refers to the plural noun people, not to one. They would extend the rule to constructions with inanimate nouns, as in The sports car turned out to be one of the most successful products that were ever manufactured in this country.

But the use of the singular verb in these constructions is common, even among the best writers. In an earlier survey, 42 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the use of the singular verb in such constructions. Itâs really a matter of which word you feel is most appropriate as the antecedent of the relative pronounâ one or the plural noun in the of phrase that follows it. Note also that when the phrase containing one is introduced by the definite article, the verb in the relative clause must be singular: He is the only one of the students who has (not have) already taken Latin."

For what it's worth, heere are the Google search results for
"one of the few of that" and
"one of the few of who" in the BBC website only. If you consider only sentences in simple present , you will find both "have" and "has", "do" and "does" and so on.

Thanks, Tanit!

I was writing my previous reply while you posted this one.

The link you provided is really useful.

Re: One of the ... that ...

Tanit — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:18:48 GMT

Zj.frank wrote:
Dear all:

He is one of the few that knows the solution to the problem.
or
He is one of the few that know the solution to the problem.

Do the two "that"s denote different things? Shall we say that the first "that" denotes "he" while the second "that" denotes "the few"? If so, do the two sentences have slightly different meanings?

It seems that the first sentence is more often used. Here is an example from <http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/films/int/1mm/gluttony/-/films/oneminutemovies/watch/snowball.shtml?gluttony.shtml>

This is the best film on here... and one of the few that bothers with any sense of narrative and character.

Surely there are a few films that bother with some sense of narrative and character. Is it to say that in such case, we usually use "that bothers" rather than "that bother"? Thanks in advance for any enlightenment!

Hi, good question!

I was wandering whether a slightly different point of view exists as for the subject of the sentence:
He is one [of the few] that knows the solution to the problem.
or
He is one of the few that know the solution to the problem.

After some research, I came across this:

"one of those who. Constructions such as one of those people who pose a different problem. Many people argue that who should be followed by a plural verb in these sentences, as in He is one of those people who just donât take ânoâ for an answer. Their thinking is that the relative pronoun who refers to the plural noun people, not to one. They would extend the rule to constructions with inanimate nouns, as in The sports car turned out to be one of the most successful products that were ever manufactured in this country.

But the use of the singular verb in these constructions is common, even among the best writers. In an earlier survey, 42 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the use of the singular verb in such constructions. Itâs really a matter of which word you feel is most appropriate as the antecedent of the relative pronounâ one or the plural noun in the of phrase that follows it. Note also that when the phrase containing one is introduced by the definite article, the verb in the relative clause must be singular: He is the only one of the students who has (not have) already taken Latin."

For what it's worth, heere are the Google search results for
"one of the few of that" and
"one of the few of who" in the BBC website only. If you consider only sentences in simple present , you will find both "have" and "has", "do" and "does" and so on.

EDITED: "wandering" is a typo for "wondering". My apologies.

Re: Somebody.....problem

Goodman — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 22:21:31 GMT

Here is an article Iâve found in the interest of singularity and plurality. It may be helpful in answering some of the questions.___________________________________________________________

Is None Singular or Plural?

By Diane Sandford

Published July 21, 2003

Welcome to a new feature from LLRX: a column on grammar. Grammar? Who cares about grammar? You should. How you write makes a strong impression on all your working relationships. Of course, I'm interested because I find it fun. It can even be billable! I once spent hours meticulously diagramming a section of the CFR for a litigation partner to help him determine the intent of a regulation. He later asked just what the correct term was for people like me - those odd individuals who like to edit, diagram sentences, and debate about things grammatical. I was quick to respond, "Grammar Goddess, of course!"

Every firm can use a grammar goddess (or g-d). With my trusty style manuals, dictionaries, and grammar books by my side, I plan to take a look at common questions of grammar that arise during the work day and share the answers with you. Rarely a day goes by that I'm not asked a grammar question.

Â· Should certain words in a title be capitalized?

Â· Should a sentence with ambiguous antecedents be recast ? (Yes!)

Â· Does a closing quotation mark go before or after the period? (After.)

Recently, a summer associate asked whether the indefinite pronoun none was singular or plural. She asked because she wasn't sure which form of verb to use with it, singular or plural. I suggested that she think of none as not one, and that quickly resolved the issue.

Indefinite pronouns by definition reference nonspecific things or people. Most of these pronouns take a singular verb, some are always plural, and a few may be either singular or plural. Take a look at the lists below, and you'll notice that most indefinite pronouns are singular.

Â· Singular: another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, many a, neither, no one, nobody, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone

Â· Plural: both, few, many, others, several

Â· Singular or Plural: all, any, none, some, such

A good rule of thumb is to treat most indefinite pronouns as singular and try to remember the few exceptions.

Example 1: Neither of the attorneys (was/were) available for comment.
Think: Not one of the attorneys was available for comment. (singular subject/singular verb)

Example 2: None of the documents (is/are) identified in the brief.
Think: Not one of the documents is identified in the brief. (singular subject/singular verb)

Example 3: Some of the arguments (was/were) weak.
Think: More than one of the arguments were weak. (plural subject/plural verb)

On the surface, indefinite pronouns seem simple and harmless, but they often cause confusion for writers. Try rephrasing the sentence by replacing the indefinite pronoun with some of the suggested variations above, and you'll usually make the correct choice.

If you are interested in a more extensive discussion of indefinite pronouns, take a look at Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (available in print only) or visit www.bartleby.com, one of the most useful web resources for writers, editors, and researchers alike. Simply enter a free-text search or select a specific reference title to search from the pull-down menu (e.g., Strunk's Style).

Do you have a grammar question? Comments

Re: Plural or singular verb?

Magda — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 19:23:20 GMT

Thanks, Marius.
I will keep this rule in mind. What I am puzzled by, however, is the fact that either of the examples you gave me doesn't refer exactly to the sentence I gave.
In your first example, we deal with proper names, no articles there, and in the second one, with one noun in plural and the other in singular.
If I kept this rule in my sentence, I should write "He doesn't even know what an adjective and adverb are," which sounds strange to me because of the indefinite article.
Of course, I will take GG advice and write "adjectives" and "adverbs", but that doesn't clarify my doubts I had in case of the original sentence .

Best regards
Magda

Could nothing be invariably singular?

Grammarian-bot — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 05:35:05 GMT

I've found the followng article in The American Heritage Book of English.

According to the traditional rule, nothing is invariably treated as a singular, even when followed by an exception phrase containing a plural noun:

1. Nothing except your fears stands (not stand) in your way.
2. Nothing but roses meets (not meet) the eye.

As far as verbs like "stand" and "meet" are concerned, one doesn't found difficulty to accept that they could be used with a singular mark (stands & meets) with nothing. But thinking about a verb "to be" used as a singular with nothing creates bit of a doubt. Consider the following example;

3. Nothing except your fears is your worst dream.

To me, is here doesn't sound much good. Please can someone assure me whether a singular verb should always be used with nothing or not.

GB

Re: What Is or What Are?

Bambang — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 10:04:46 GMT

Just for additional information, here is the usage notes from a dictionary :

When what is the subject of a clause, it may be construed as singular or plural, depending on the sense. It is singular when taken as the equivalent of that which or the thing which, as in I see what seems to be a dead tree; and it is plural when it is taken as the equivalent of those which or the things which, as in He sometimes makes what seem to be gestures of aloofness. - When a what clause is itself the subject of a sentence, it may be construed as singular or plural, but the conditions governing this choice are somewhat more complicated. In general, a what clause will be taken as a plural when the clause contains an explicit indication of its own plurality. There are two principal cases. First, the clause is plural if what is the subject of the clause and the verb of the clause is itself plural: What seem to be two dead trees are blocking the road. What most surprise me are the inflammatory remarks at the end of his article. If the verb in the what clause does not anticipate the plural sense of the predicate in this way, a singular verb is generally used in the main clause as well, though the plural is sometimes found: What truly commands respect is (sometimes are) a large navy and a resolute foreign policy. Second, the what clause is treated as plural when its predicate contains a plural noun phrase that unambiguously establishes the plurality of the clause as a whole, as in What traditional grammarians called "predicates" are called "verb phrases" by modern linguists. What the Romans established as military outposts were later to become important trading centers. In the absence of explicit plural marking of either of these types in a subject what clause, the clause is usually treated as singular for the purposes of agreement, regardless of the sense: What she held in her lap was four kittens. What the apparent diamonds turned out to be was paste. In some cases, however, a clause with what as the subject may be treated as singular or plural, depending on a subtle distinction of sense. In What excite him most are money and power, the implication is that money and power are distinct elements; in What excites him most is money and power, the implication is that money and power are taken as constituting a single entity.