Search results for 'tag:Conversations tag:Plurals' matching tags 'Conversations' and 'Plurals'

Re: one of the Plural or Singular

Mr Wordy — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:50:36 GMT

"One of the guys runs to work every day" is grouped as "[One of the guys] runs to work every day". "One of the guys" is singular, and "runs" agrees with the singular subject.

"This is one of the cars that run on hydrogen" is grouped as "This is one of [the cars that run on hydrogen]". In other words, of all the cars that run on hydrogen, this is one example. "Run" now agrees with a plural subject, "cars".

"This is one of the cars that runs on hydrogen" would logically have to be interpreted as "This is [one of the cars] that runs on hydrogen". Although this seems not unreasonable, if you meant this you'd say it differently; something like "This is one of the cars. This one runs on hydrogen". Here, the set of cars that "the cars" refers to has to be apparent from context (and may include both hydrogen-fuelled and non-hydrogen-fuelled vehicles).

Having said that, in everyday conversation a native speaker might well say "This is one of the cars that runs on hydrogen", although logically they mean "This is one of the cars that run on hydrogen", and it would often go unnoticed. In fact, if you asked a cross-section of ordinary native speakers, my guess is that many of them wouldn't know whether it should be "run" or "runs", and wouldn't perceive any difference in meaning.

Re: One or two

Goodman — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:55:35 GMT

Abil,
Yes, you are correct in "formal" usage.
This may help clear any doubts:

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/english/2005/02/neither_or_eith.html

Laura asks:
How about using "neither" versus "either"? I transcribe for doctors, and this is one rule I just can't get straight in my head.
I need to figure out a way to remember which to use when, because some of the docs use them indiscriminately.

Great question!

"Either" and "neither" are both singular adjectives meaning "one or the other of two." "Neither" of course means "not the first
one and not the second one."In formal writing, we usually use a singular verb because "either" and "neither" signal that one of the following
nouns is the subject, but not both:

Either Bill or Bob is going to the conference. (One or the other is going, but not both.)
Neither Joan nor Jane likes sushi. (= Joan doesn't like sushi. Jane doesn't like sushi either!)

Notice that we say "either...or" and "neither...nor." In informal English, most people would say "Neither Joan OR Jane LIKE sushi." That's
all right in conversation, but in formal documents you should prefer the formal usage.

Of course we have a confusing exception to this rule. You can use a plural verb if you have a plural noun next to the verb:
Either Joan or the Kennedys are going to the conference.

But put the singular noun closer to the verb, and it goes back to singular!
Either the Kennedys or Joan is going to the conference.

And it's the same with "neither":
Neither Jane nor her brothers like sushi.
Neither her brothers nor Jane likes sushi.

Of course the verb will be plural if both nouns are plural:
Either the Smiths or the Robinsons are meeting us at the station.
Neither the Canadians nor the Americans are interested in this problem.

Re: Correction 4

Mr Wordy — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:49:55 GMT

A: Tell us about your latest movie.

B: It's about a kid, me, moving to China and leaving behind his past in the US. In the foreign country, he has to blend into the completely different culture. Though he speaks Chinese, there are other obstacles like gaining peer acceptance, ...

In writing, some people don't approve of "like" when "such as" is meant (i.e. when introducing a list of examples, as you have here). Others aren't bothered, or wouldn't even notice. In a real-life conversation I think almost no one would be that fussy.

... not to mention attracting the opposite sex, and getting used to Chinese food. You know, people in China eat anything under the sun, ranging from pork feet to ~~cow's~~ cows' testicles to dog.

A: I know you've been living in China since 2003. Do you eat them?

[I slightly edited the following para a short while after posting it.]

To me, it's not totally clear what "them" refers to. It seems as if it refers to just one of the named plural items, and I'm left wondering which one. If you mean those weird things in general, then it would probably be better to say "Do you eat all those things?" Again, I'm commenting on this as a written piece. In a real-life conversation this would pass without comment.

B: No. I'd rather stick to a normal diet.

A: Do you have friends who eat them? And what do you do if they're going to a restaurant
serving these variety meats? Do you find an excuse to bail on them? Or do you join them but be frank with them
and just keep them company?

B: Fortunately, most of my friends don't take them.

To me, "take them" is not a very natural phrase in this context. I would only use "take" in the sense of "consume" for condiments, medications and things of that nature. It might be fine to others though.

But once, we went to this restaurant ~~and~~ and one of my friends
ordered ~~pig's~~ pigs' penises. It was gross. Though it ~~brothered~~ bothered me I just told myself they were hotdogs.

Re: lion

New2grammar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:47:08 GMT

The reason I asked #1 is that sometimes, in conversation, I hear people change from singular to plural to generalize the statement. Is it a common mistake?

Thanks for the correction. Of course they are different but I sometimes call one the other. :(

conversation: mistakes

Hela — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:31:14 GMT

Dear teachers,

Would you please help me correct this sentence?

He has an appropriate knowledge and way of thinking that helps him have a sensible conversation.

These are my views:

vocabulary: a) is "appropriate" wrong here and should be replaced by "sufficiant" ? b) is "way of thinking" wrong here and should be replaced by "common sense" ? c) what verbs can be used with "conversation" : to have, lead, conduct, something else ?

grammar: a) is it possible to use the article before "appropriate knowledge" even though "knowledge" is uncountable ? b) should the verb "help" be in the singular or plural ?

Are there other mistakes ?

Regards

Re: Possessive adjectives and pronouns, object pronouns for words such as "person, one, who"

khoff — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:06:35 GMT

English really needs another pronoun for cases like this!

Traditionally, if the gender was unknown, the masculine pronoun would be used. In a grammar book from 50 years ago, your examples would most certainly use "his." Today this would still be considered grammatically correct, but might be considered socially incorrect. These days, at least in the U.S., the "best" solution is probably to say "his or her", like this:

The one who had lost his or her identification card, couldn't come in. (This example bothers me a bit, probably because I think it's unlikely that the speaker would know that someone had lost a card and was not allowed to come in but would not know if it was a man or a woman.)

- Each person should take his or her equipment to the bus.

- We don't know the person, but we shall wait for him or her, wearing white shirts and holding daisies in our hands.

In some cases, rewriting the sentence into the plural would be a good choice:

"Passengers should take their equipment to the bus."

"Those who lose their identification cards will not be allowed in." Obviously, this is not always possible if the subject is definitely singular.

We would never use "it" for a person.

However, since our language has no pronoun for "a single person of unknown gender," people have begun to use "they, their, them" in situations like this. (Each person should take their equipment to the bus.) Technically it's not correct to use "they" for a single person, but its gender-neutral property is so useful that it is being used this way more and more. It's much easier than saying "his or her." I can't speak for everyone, but it doesn't offend me, and I would be very likely to say it myself in conversation. It would probably be best to avoid it in very formal writing or on English exams.

(In thinking about this, I'm not sure why the evolution of the language has favored using the plural pronoun as a gender-neutral singular rather than using the gender-neutral but inanimate "it" for people -- but that's definitely what has happened. It would be very common to hear any of your examples with the appropiate form of "their," but never, never with "its.")

Re: Everyone does their jobs

khoff — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:27:21 GMT

Clive -- I agree that "everyone" is often treated as plural in casual conversation, and I might well say "everyone does their best" myself. But technically, shouldn't it be "everyone does his job and everyone does his best," at least in formal writing?

I realize that the concept of "everyone" is plural by nature, but I think traditionally the word is treated as singular grammatically. After all, you would say "everyone is here," not "everyone are here." For that matter, "does" is the singular form of the verb. So why not the singular pronoun (his)?

I would not argue that "their" is really bad -- in some cases, it might just "sound better." But I think it's worth pointing out that "his" is certainly also possible, and might be preferable.

Re: Kindly explain the verb usage

Hoa Thai — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:23:47 GMT

Hi,

I would not say 'talk' is inappropriate. It depends on what the speak/writer wants to convey. If there is a dialog or conversation between your inner voice and you, talk is fine. We use speak instead of talk to indicate one-way communication.

In regard to the structure of the sentence, does corresponds to the inner voice not you, so it has to be singular. And when we form a question with does/do, the main verb should stay in its base-infinitive form (i.e., talk in this case); thus, it is irrelevant whether the subject is singular or plural.

Re: two broad questions

Cool Breeze — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 09:28:30 GMT

A is often used with plural nouns when there is an adjective before the noun and an amount is thought of:

He spent a happy five days in Cairo.

An adjective becomes a plural noun when the is placed before it:

The illiterate can't read. (= Illiterate people can't read.)
The rich like money. (= Rich people like money. I bet the poor do as well...)

If the reference is not to people, the resultant noun is grammatically singular:

The impossible fascinates him. (= Impossible things fascinate him.)

This usage is rather formal in style and not used much in conversation.

CB

Re: Contractions again (I am sorry)

CalifJim — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 05:46:50 GMT

I agree that it's useless to add apostrophe-s to indicate is when the word ends in a sibilant (i.e., would take -es to form a plural). In these cases the apostrophe-s looks very strange, and nothing is gained where pronunciation is concerned. But in all other cases (regardless of whether they end in a voiced or unvoiced sound), the apostrophe-s for is is fine. (Go figure!)

*My watch's slow.
My watch is slow.
Dinner's ready.
Mike's here.

My observation is that learners find these nearly impossible to incorporate in their own conversations. Any comments on that?

CJ