In Nouns^x, Compound subjects^x

During my recent trip through western Canada, I came across a number of people who used 'him/her' as the subject pronoun when used in a compound subject: "him and his uncle arrived later"; "him and his son did such-and-such"; "her and her friends had tea at the Banff Springs Hotel". I can't...

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 meeting me...

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...

I had these exchanges before: Taka wrote:My dictionary says:''Gerund AND gerund' , 'infinitive AND infinitive' and 'abstract noun AND abstract noun' are generally treated as singular when they are used as the compound subject of a sentence.Do you think this explanation is wrong? Grammar Geek...

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?

Grammar Geek wrote:Like "Running and swimming is my favorite form of exercise"? No. That would be "...are my favorite forms of exercise."This is a bit getting off the point of the original question, but let me ask.My dictionary says:''Gerund AND gerund' , 'infinitive AND infinitive' and...

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...

Yoong Liat wrote: According to one of my books on English usage, it should be "There was a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England." This is a BrE usage rule. In AmE, either 'was' and 'were' can be used. Please note that this rule applies when the...

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 "and"....

"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...