Search results for 'tag:Regards tag:Compound subjects' matching tags 'Regards' and 'Compound subjects'

Re: Is this grammatically correct?

Avangi — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:07:56 GMT

Tbsukt wrote:
1) A new year is at the open with new joys and new opportunities. As they always say, carpe Diem, seize the day! Live each day to the fullest but never forget to save some time for both your bodies and souls to rest.

2) Your friendship and loyalty to one another inspires me. Cherish what you have, I trust you won't let anything or anyone come between you.

Any comments would be very appreciated

Thank you.

Hi.

You've created a new expression - "coined a new phrase!" It's perfectly clear what you mean by "at the open", but I've never heard it. I hate to mess with your poetry. Perhaps, "A new year presents/offers a new opening for new joys and new opportunities." (Too many "new's"?) "A new year is wide open for new joys and new opportunities." [You'll just have to find something else that works for you.]

You'll probably need quotes around "carpe Diem." I really don't know what's supposed to be capitalized there, or what the correct form is for setting off the translation.

In the imperative the subject is understood to be "you", but is it singular or plural? "Bodies and souls" catches me off guard. I would have expected singular.

2. Compound subject needs the plural verb. I think you have three sentences here, unless you want to use a semi-colon.

Regards, - A.

Re: In the garden is/are a cat, a dog, and a rabit.

Yoong Liat — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 06:43:27 GMT

Hi Teo

I hope the following will be helpful.

In BrE, it should be There is a cat and a dog.

Below is the information extracted from two books on English usage. The first book is on British English usage, the second on American English usage.

'The Right Word at the Right Time' states as follows:

There is an apple and pears for dessert.

There are apples and a pear for dessert.

'Merriam-Webster 'Guide to English Usage' states as follows:

When a compound subject follows the verb and the first element is singular, the verb may be either singular or plural.

There is a lake and several small streams.

There are a dog and a few cats in the house.

The singular construction is more common. Still, some writers insist on formal agreement and use a plural verb: There were an apartment house and a parking lot at the end of the block.

Best regards

Re: These are a cat and a dog... ummm

Yoong Liat — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:18:52 GMT

Kooyeen wrote:
Yoong Liat wrote:

Yoong Liat wrote:

There is / are a cat and a dog. (In AmE, both are acceptable.)
Hi Yoong,
I didn't know that, where did you find out it? I always thought "are" didn't sound very good. Maybe it's ok but it's not used much?

Hi Kooyeen

'The Right Word at the Right Time' states as follows:

There is an apple and pears for dessert.

There are apples and a pear for dessert.

The above is BrE.

'Merriam-Webster 'Guide to English Usage' states as follows:

When a compound subject follows the verb and the first element is singular, the verb may be either singular or plural.

There is a lake and several small streams.

There are a dog and a few cats in the house.

The singular construction is more common. Still, some writers insist on formal agreement and use a plural verb: There were an apartment house and a parking lot at the end of the block. \u003c/strong\>\n \u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"1\"\>\u003c/font\>Â \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"1\"\>I would appreciate it very much if you could publish this in your column so that Yi Ren and the other readers of your column will learn the difference between British and American English usage in regard to a sentence which starts with "There is".\n\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"1\"\>\u003c/font\>Â \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"1\"\>Best regards\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>",1] ); D(["mb","\u003cspan class\u003dsg\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"1\"\>\u003c/font\>Â \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"1\"\>Koh\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003c/span\>",0] ); D(["ce"]); //-->

Re: There is / are a ...

Mr Patrick — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:57:26 GMT

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:

http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/060.html/#COMPOUNDSUBJ

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm

According to the first text, there are two rules that seem to clash in your example. One rule says that compound subjects connected by and should take a plural verb. The other rule says that often a verb will take the number of the closest noun.

I think that in your example the first rule will take precedence over the second, and therefore the verb has to be in plural. I would not accept the singular form in a student's essay.

Having said that, maybe style considerations can come to our rescue. Why not rephrase the sentence? The meaning remains the same and all rules are now satisfied: There are two cats and a dog in his house.

Regards, Patrick

Re: "There/Here is" with plural subject allowed?

eagle2l84 — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 22:56:53 GMT

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 appear, the verb agrees in number with the following grammatical subject: There is a great Italian deli across the street. There are fabulous wildflowers in the hills. There seems to be a blueberry pie cooking in the kitchen. There seem to be a few trees between the green and me. But people often disregard this rule and use a singular verb with a plural subject, especially when speaking or when using the contraction thereâs. The Usage Panel dislikes this construction, however. Seventy-nine percent reject the sentence Thereâs only three things you need to know about this book. But when thereâs is followed by a compound subject whose first element is singular, the panel feels differently. Fifty-six percent of the Usage Panel accepts the sentence In each of us thereâs a dreamer and a realist, and 32 percent more accept it in informal usage. The panel is even more accepting of the sentence When you get to the stop light, thereâs a gas station on the left and a grocery store on the right; 58 percent accept it in formal usage, while 37 percent more accept it in informal usage. Although this usage would seem to violate the rules of subject and verb agreement, the attraction of the verb to the singular noun phrase following it is so strong that it is hard to avoid the construction entirely.

While this clarifies the usage for AmE, I still wonder how it used around the world.

Hoping for more to come,

cu