In Expressions^x, Singular verbs^x, Verbs^x

The devil is in the details All of your phrases have one or two small details which are incorrect The advice to take care implies that you make these mistakes through carelessness Do you think that s the case or do you simply need to study harder In this case your expression is your writing If...

I can think of only one such expression that can refer to one person or more The deceased was were buried yesterday However a singular verb is required if the reference isn t to people The impossible fascinates him Impossible things fascinate him CB

I d say all can only be followed by a singular verb when the meaning of all is everything and that is probably limited to well known expressions most of the time All is not lost All is forgiven All is fair in love and war All s well that ends well All is calm all is bright

There is no difference in the agreement rules whether you use a majority of or the majority of These expressions are almost always followed by a plural noun and a plural verb thus The majority of Americans believe A majority of Brazilians say The majority of students think Once in a great while...

How about Neither he nor she drinks or Neither he nor she drink Marco wrote I tought we should use neither nor with a singular verb when both of the subjects are singular Neither he nor she is happy Quote from the OED d With two sing subjects and pl verb 1759 Johnson Idler No 44 _3 Neither search...

How about Neither he nor she drinks or Neither he nor she drink Marco wrote I tought we should use neither nor with a singular verb when both of the subjects are singular Neither he nor she is happy Quote from the OED d With two sing subjects and pl verb 1759 Johnson Idler No 44 _3 Neither search...

Both are fine Here is what the American Heritage Dictionary has to say USAGE NOTE Every is representative of a large class of English words and expressions that are singular in form but felt to be plural in sense The class includes for example noun phrases introduced by every any and certain uses...

Let me quote from Fowler s Modern English Usage The expression a number of plural noun as in a number of people NORMALLY takes a plural verb in both BrE and AmE because the plural noun is regarded as the head of the noun phrase and therefore as the real subject A number of books by ballerinas...

Well guys looks like every one here goes witha singular verb but American Heritage says it should be have Actually I saw this sentence in Americam Heritage but couldn t figure out why is it so Following is the passage Every is representative of a large class of English words and expressions that...

The rule for numerical expressions is that if they are considered collectively then a singular verb would be used otherwise a plural verb would be used Fifty percent of the students has or have been expelled Here the act of expelling is a collective action so i think has should be used but i want...