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

Re: 2nd Person Plural Subject Pronoun

lruc — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:25:13 GMT

Actually, while we are on the subject of 2nd person pronouns, I have another question. Why do we say "you are" when referring to a single person? Is it not correct to say "you is"?

2nd Person Plural Subject Pronoun

lruc — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 21:50:41 GMT

Does anybody else wonder why English does not have a second person plural subject pronoun? As an example, suppose you are giving a speech to a group of people and you want to address them as a group. You would be forced to use the singular pronoun, you, with an indefinite adjective like all. At a last resort, we could all use the Spanish alternative ustedes!

Re: What is Concord?

Yoong Liat — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:49:57 GMT

Hi B-A

Below is for your information.

What is âconcordâ?There must be grammatical logic or coherence in the links between parts of a sentence. This is called 'agreement' or 'concord'. EXAMPLES The boy is swimming.
[singular subject, singular verb form]

The boys are swimming.
[plural subject, plural verb form]

The shop [singular] opens at nine o'clock. On Thursdays the shops [plural] open late. Sometimes confusion occurs because a statement begins in the singular but then drifts into the plural: wrong
It can be argued that a person has the right to know when they are dying. The easiest solution to this problem is to make the subject plural and its verb plural as well: correct
It can be argued that people have the right to know when they are dying. Sometimes a singular noun is used to denote a plural or a collective thing - such as 'government' or 'parliament'. Either the singular or the plural verb form may be used - but the important thing is to be consistent. wrong
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.correct
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make it change its mind. correct
The government prefer to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

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: Somebody.....problem

Goodman — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 22:21:31 GMT

Here is an article Iâve found in the interest of singularity and plurality. It may be helpful in answering some of the questions.___________________________________________________________

Is None Singular or Plural?

By Diane Sandford

Published July 21, 2003

Welcome to a new feature from LLRX: a column on grammar. Grammar? Who cares about grammar? You should. How you write makes a strong impression on all your working relationships. Of course, I'm interested because I find it fun. It can even be billable! I once spent hours meticulously diagramming a section of the CFR for a litigation partner to help him determine the intent of a regulation. He later asked just what the correct term was for people like me - those odd individuals who like to edit, diagram sentences, and debate about things grammatical. I was quick to respond, "Grammar Goddess, of course!"

Every firm can use a grammar goddess (or g-d). With my trusty style manuals, dictionaries, and grammar books by my side, I plan to take a look at common questions of grammar that arise during the work day and share the answers with you. Rarely a day goes by that I'm not asked a grammar question.

Â· Should certain words in a title be capitalized?

Â· Should a sentence with ambiguous antecedents be recast ? (Yes!)

Â· Does a closing quotation mark go before or after the period? (After.)

Recently, a summer associate asked whether the indefinite pronoun none was singular or plural. She asked because she wasn't sure which form of verb to use with it, singular or plural. I suggested that she think of none as not one, and that quickly resolved the issue.

Indefinite pronouns by definition reference nonspecific things or people. Most of these pronouns take a singular verb, some are always plural, and a few may be either singular or plural. Take a look at the lists below, and you'll notice that most indefinite pronouns are singular.

Â· Singular: another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, many a, neither, no one, nobody, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone

Â· Plural: both, few, many, others, several

Â· Singular or Plural: all, any, none, some, such

A good rule of thumb is to treat most indefinite pronouns as singular and try to remember the few exceptions.

Example 1: Neither of the attorneys (was/were) available for comment.
Think: Not one of the attorneys was available for comment. (singular subject/singular verb)

Example 2: None of the documents (is/are) identified in the brief.
Think: Not one of the documents is identified in the brief. (singular subject/singular verb)

Example 3: Some of the arguments (was/were) weak.
Think: More than one of the arguments were weak. (plural subject/plural verb)

On the surface, indefinite pronouns seem simple and harmless, but they often cause confusion for writers. Try rephrasing the sentence by replacing the indefinite pronoun with some of the suggested variations above, and you'll usually make the correct choice.

If you are interested in a more extensive discussion of indefinite pronouns, take a look at Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (available in print only) or visit www.bartleby.com, one of the most useful web resources for writers, editors, and researchers alike. Simply enter a free-text search or select a specific reference title to search from the pull-down menu (e.g., Strunk's Style).

Do you have a grammar question? Comments

Singular or plural in generalization (#2)?

Gori — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 12:57:09 GMT

When I refer the terms "manager" and "shop" as generic nouns in the examples below, can I use either case (1. or 2.) despite the plural subject? Is the example 1. below grammatically wrong?

1. They can be a manager of a shop.
2. They can be managers of shops.

Re: Are or is?

Buddhaheart — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 06:46:08 GMT

According to Answers.com, although "none" is etymologically derived from OE "one", it has been used as both a singular and a plural word from that time on as evident in the Bible, works of J. Dryden & E. Burke and many present day well known authors. Today "None" is considered to be shortened form of "not one; no one & not any" as any lexicons will tell you.

Depending on the context, it can take a singular or plural verb. This seems to be the view of most people. I wonât go too far to say thereâs only one correct form, i.e. the singular!

Examine the example "There is none left." If the context is I need another red pencil but not one is available, the singular verb makes sense. In "None of us are grammarians", the plural verb makes sense as "none of us" here means "not any of us". The plural sense (all of us) is implied. In Anonymous question, the plural form "are" is acceptable (IMO).

The indefinite pronoun is actually used as a plural subject more often than not. To the purist & strict theorist, this sounds odd and unsettling. Well, the English language, like any other isnâât really an exact science.

To add confusion, hereâre some more lexicon & grammar text examples:

"None have (has) arrived yet.ââ
"There is none of it left."
"None of the apples are rotten."

"None of my children has/have blonde hair."

"None of his poems are well known."

""None but fools have ever believed it."

Re: a large number has / have

Ouc — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 18:36:57 GMT

Number. Like other collective nouns number may take either a singular or a plural verb. Unlike most of them, it admits of a simple and logical rule. When all that it is doing is forming part of a composite plural subject, it should have a plural verb, as in:

A large number of people are coming today.

But when it is standing on its own legs as the subject it should have a singular verb, as in:

The number of people coming today is large.

The following are accordingly unidiomatic:

There is a number of applications, some of which were made before yours.
There is a large number of outstanding orders.

The true subjects are not "a number" and "a large number" but "a-number-of-applications" and "a-large-number-of-outstanding orders".

Of the following examples the first has a singular verb that should be plural and the second a plural verb that should be singular.

There ~~was~~ also a number of conferences calling themselves peace conferences which had no real interest in peace.
The number of casualties in H.M.S. Amethyst ~~are~~ is thought to be about fifteen.

Those kind of things. The use of the plural these or those with the singular kind or so

FromTroubles With Number http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/gowerse/complete/chap904.htm

Re: cheerleader

LearningNerd — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 17:49:17 GMT

The first one, because -- actually, I'm not quite sure how to explain it. Well, a quick search on google for "thing after thing was" has about 100 results, while "thing after thing were" has none.

Hmm. As I understand it, the only way to form a plural subject out of two singular nouns is to join them with the word "and". Other joining words like "or" require a singular verb, and I guess "after" does, too. There's probably a word for this sort of "one after another" construction -- does anyone know?

Re: Verb for uncountable noun

Clive — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:05:22 GMT

Hi,

Multiple nouns make a plural subject, so say 'are' in each case.

Note that you can't say 'each software'. You need to say something like 'each piece of software ' or 'each software package' or 'each software component'.

Best wishes, Clive