Search results for 'tag:Plural subject tag:Clauses' matching tags 'Plural subject' and 'Clauses'

Re: comma before 'when'? is it correct?

Carson21 — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:10:26 GMT

Futurehuman11 wrote:
That fight comes in 10 days, when Lesnar takes on former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir in the co-main event of UFC 81.

This is similar to the case of the second clause renaming the first.

My teacher, Mrs. Smith, is the first English teacher I've had that didn't use 'is' with a plural subject!

We renamed "my teacher", so we use a comma.

... 10 days, when Lesnar...

This time, rather than re-naming (or rather, re-specifying) a person or object, we're renaming a time frame.

I must comment, however, on the odd grammar of the first clause. "That fight comes in 10 days..." sound wierd to me. If I were to write that whole sentence, it'd look like this:

Lesnar takes on former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir in UFC 81 in ten days! or Ten days from now, Lesnar takes on ...

Unless there's a context this sentence was pulled out of?

Re: I need your help,please.

Avangi — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:36:54 GMT

1. "women" - use plural to match "the elderly" & "are more LIKELY"

2. The goals of our program ARE - use plural verb with plural subject

3. MANY benefits - "Much" is for stuff; "many" is for things you can count.

4. there IS a lot of space (missing verb in clause) & IN which he could write (or) WHERE he could write

5. (wrong choice of conjunctions) use "but" instead of "or"

6. in ALMOST every country

7. is EXTREMELY important (use adverb form to modify predicate adjective)

8. positive OR negative (conjunction)

9. While I WAS TAKING a walk (past tense to match "saw") & RAKING (wrong words - "talking" for "taking" and "ranking" for "raking")

10. to care FOR their parents

11. five LAPTOP TESTS ("tests" is a noun - object of the preposition - and is plural because there are five. "Laptop" is an adjective in this case and doesn't have to agree. It could be a noun if used alone, like "Five laptops were found to be defective.")

12. INSECTS (plural to agree with animals) & I think "fossilized" is the better adjective & I'd suggest using two separate sentences: "insects. Fossilized" & a period at the end

13. I think this is okay. It needs a period at the end.

Congratulations on your first post!

Re: if

Hoa Thai — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:06:20 GMT

Marius Hancu wrote:
It's definitely subjunctive mood. But it's not easy.

Dear Marius Hancu,

I hope you won't kick me out.

From grammatical point of view, I totally agree with you. The if ...., ... would construct gives us a clue that subjunctive is in play, especially Today is the first word appears in the text. To support that, here is what I got from American Heritage Book of English usage:

"The past subjunctive is sometimes called the were subjunctive, since were is the only subjunctive form that is distinct from the indicative past tense. It appears chiefly in if clauses and in a few other constructions expressing hypothetical conditions:
.....
if clausesâthe traditional rules. According to traditional rules, you use the subjunctive to describe an occurrence that you have presupposed to be contrary to fact: if I were ten years younger, if America were still a British Colony. The verb in the main clause of these sentences must then contain the verb would or (less frequently) should.

However, here is the part telling me that now a days, people tend to substitute subjunctive past tense with indicative past tense:

"if clausesâthe reality. In practice, of course, many people ignore the rules. In fact, over the last 200 years even well-respected writers have tended to use the indicative was where the traditional rule would require the subjunctive were. A usage such as If I was the only boy in the world may break the rules, but it sounds perfectly natural."

So, could you accept my reasoning for guessing that the author uses indicative past tense were and it just happens 'were' must be there to support the 'and' in the plural subject?

Thanks and Best Regards,
Hoa Thai

Re: was/were; bad/badly; due to/because of

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 20:34:53 GMT

Niether / or question and usage

Searching findings:

If two singular subjects are connected by neither . . . nor or either . . . or, the verb must be singular as well.

â¢ Neither Spiderman nor Batman is going to the party.

â¢ Either Slim or Roger has to leave town before someone gets hurt.

If one singular subject and one plural subject are connected by neither . . . nor or either . . . or, match the verb with whichever subject itâs closer to.

â¢ Neither Olivia nor the boys eat mushrooms.

â¢ Neither the boys nor Olivia eats mushrooms.

â¢ Either one rat or several mice are eating everything in the cupboard.

â¢ Either several mice or one rat is eating everything in the cupboard.

On another search, it said:

He will not permit the change or (or nor) even consider it. In noun phrases of the type no this or that, or is actually more common than nor: He has no experience or interest (less frequently nor interest) in chemistry. Or is also more common than nor when such a noun phrase, adjective phrase, or adverb phrase is introduced by not: He is not a philosopher or a statesman. They were not rich or happy.

clause), you can use either or or nor: He will not permit the change or (or nor) even consider it. In noun phrases of the type no this or that, or is actually more common than nor: He has no experience or interest (less frequently nor interest) in chemistry. Or is also more common than nor when such a noun phrase, adjective phrase, or adverb phrase is introduced by not: He is not a philosopher or a statesman. They were not rich or happy.

I think I know why we have varying opinions here. When I made my posting, I had neither and either in mind as singular form because that was the original posted question. So all the references I made was based on that premise. After doing some searching, I think we are all correct.

Now, let me give it another twist. If I were to say:

âNeither I nor my friends are going to the partyâ- This is correct; isnât it?

Now if I reword it to âNeither my friends nor I [was/ am /are] going to the partyâ which one is correct? since "I" is the noun closea to the verb?

I promise, I will leave it at that.

Re: Across the road there is (are?) a store and a fire hall

Kenny Dorham — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 21:29:48 GMT

Hi, Abbie,

It may be unlikely that you, or anyone else for that matter, would have an occasion to use such a sentence, but let's look at it carefully anyway.

There is John, whom I haven't seen in years, and Fred, my once-best friend, sitting on a park bench.

If we remove the non-restrictive (not necessary for identification) adjective clause "whom I haven't seen in years" and the non-restrictive appositive "my once-best friend," what we have left is "There is John and Fred, sitting on a park bench." Without the adjective clause and the appositive it is fairly clear that most people would say "There are John and Fred, sitting on a park bench" (plural subject, plural verb). My point was that when using the expletive "there," if you begin to add elements (clauses or phrases) between your first subject (in this case "John") and your second subject ("in this case "Fred"), the plural verb begins to sound rather peculiar.

I kind of like your idea of an understood explective and subject, but this happens, unless I am mistaken, exclusively in adverb clauses ("Although tired, he fought on," "he was" being understood.)