In Nouns^x, Compound subjects^x, Verbs^x

Not even the experts agree on this. I recommend making the agreement only with the first noun after the verb. There was still melamine contaminated milk and dairy products on the shelves. There were still dairy products and melamine contaminated milk on the shelves. There were dairy products on...

Adverb Not standard same as either (sense 4) USAGE: A verb following a compound subject that uses neither... ( nor ) should be in the singular if both subjects are in the singular: neither Jack nor John has done the work. Isn't it an adverb in this case? How is it possible?

The 'rule' is that the verb agrees in number with the proximal (nearest) noun of the compound subject. But it doesn't work with 'and'-- it works with 'or': A boy or three girls are meeting me at the station. Three girls or a boy is meeting me at the station. But: Three girls and a boy are...

Yes Are ([or is??) the following acceptable? Passing exams IS important to me. Yes Passing exams and enjoying college ARE important to me. Yes Supporting the Dallas Cowboys IS importing to Matt and Greg Yes Playing football and basketball MEANS a lot to Greg The next two depend if you think of...

Before you go too far, Mr. P, would you care to comment on the side issues that has come up? The use of a singular verb when there is a compound subject of gerunds or abstract nouns?

Yoong Liat wrote: There is a dog and two cats in his house. There are a dog and two cats in his house. Which is the correct sentence or are both okay? Hi Yoong Liat (should I say 'Hi Yoong' or 'Hi Liat'?) Let's start with a couple of links to my favourite sources: ...

Q1: No, I don't think there's any difference between A and B. Q2: In any setting, it's usually better to avoid repetition. A sounds more formal to me, but both A and B would work in formal writing. Q3: I think the verb should be "are" any time you have a compound subject with the word...

"They and we" (as well as "We and they") sound VERY strange. If they are we are both doing this thing (as a compound subject), wouldn't we just say "We all" or "We both"? If you want to emphasize that "they" are different from "us," then I'd use each pronouns with its own verb. "The fact that...

The word 'gerund' is going out of favour, with ' -ing verb form ' now preferred; the result, however, is the same: a gerund is an -ing verb form used as a noun. In your initial sentence, communicating effectively and anticipating customer needs are nonfinite clauses acting as nouns (in this...

Hi, it's me, Ralf, the starter of this thread. Thanks for your answers so far. A post in another thread pointed me to the "American Heritage - Book of English Usage", where I found this section : According to the standard rule, when the pronoun there precedes a verb such as be, seem, or...