Search results for 'tag:Singular nouns tag:Plurals' matching tags 'Singular nouns' and 'Plurals'

Re: Singular & Plural Verb

Mister Micawber — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:29:53 GMT

.
Hello, prem1pre-- and welcome to EF.

His rank (singular noun) of Major is superior to their ranks (plural noun) of Captain and Lieutenant.
A Major ranks (3rd person singular present verb) higher than a Captain;, while a Captain and a Lieutenant rank (3rd person plural present verb) higher than a Sergeant.

Several genes determine (3rd person plural present verb) hair colour, but only one gene determines (3rd person singular present verb) curliness.

Re: lies/exist/stay

Avangi — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:03:07 GMT

singular noun, third person singular verb: The bucket lies / exists on the floor.

plural noun, third person plural verb: The glasses lie / exist / stay on that stand.

- A.

Re: the apostrophe s!

yizhivika — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:12:47 GMT

Hi Shely,

If the noun is singular, as with 'Poland' here, you should say:

Poland's entrance [actually, you're more likely to use 'entry' here, not 'entrance'] to the EU.

You use s' if the noun is plural. For example:

The local farmers' wives always organise a festival at this time of year.

Note that if you were talking of only one farmer you would say:

The local farmer's wife always organises a festival at this time of year.

Be careful, however, with irregular plurals such as men and children.

It would be "The men's wives..." and "The children's toys..."

Also note that you'll sometimes see s' used with singular nouns that end in s, when the noun is a proper name. For example:

Mr. Jones' daughter has just got married. (Mr. Jones here is the man's name).

Re: Using an apostrophe

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:16:56 GMT

Possessive Use

If you are using a singular noun to indicate possession, use an apostrophe before the "s."
If you are using a plural noun, use an apostrophe after the "s."

Instead of: Both neighbors dogs barked all night long.
Consider: Both neighbors' dogs barked all night long.

Instead of: Ice hockey is Toms favorite sport.
Consider: Ice hockey is Tom's favorite sport.

(NOUN MEANS - PERSON, PLACE, THING, OR IDEA) - meaining that you would use an apostrophy for non-living things as well...

THIS IS BY WAY OF MICROSOFT WORD..HOPE THIS HELPS

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: Difference between using much and many

CalifJim — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 06:51:18 GMT

Guest
Please send me the grammar rule for using much and many in sentences and the reasons behind this usage.

much is used with singular nouns. much butter, much water, not much information, not much hope, Much of it is ...

many is used with plural nouns. many cars, many letters, not many horses, not many details, Many of them are ...

There is no particular reason behind the usage. It's just a convention of English grammar.

I don't think it's necessary to consider whether a noun is countable; the singular-plural rule is sufficient because an uncountable can't be used in the plural anyway.

other/another

natybrazil — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:57:21 GMT

I read a sentence in a book that made me think for a while:

"Peddy is getting married to other woman".

Here other is followed by a singular noun, woman. If the author had written to another woman, would it imply that Peddy is already married and then got married to second woman? The sentece made me think because I always use other followed by a plural noun.

Looking forward to the answer!
Thanks.

Re: One or two

Goodman — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:55:35 GMT

Abil,
Yes, you are correct in "formal" usage.
This may help clear any doubts:

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/english/2005/02/neither_or_eith.html

Laura asks:
How about using "neither" versus "either"? I transcribe for doctors, and this is one rule I just can't get straight in my head.
I need to figure out a way to remember which to use when, because some of the docs use them indiscriminately.

Great question!

"Either" and "neither" are both singular adjectives meaning "one or the other of two." "Neither" of course means "not the first
one and not the second one."In formal writing, we usually use a singular verb because "either" and "neither" signal that one of the following
nouns is the subject, but not both:

Either Bill or Bob is going to the conference. (One or the other is going, but not both.)
Neither Joan nor Jane likes sushi. (= Joan doesn't like sushi. Jane doesn't like sushi either!)

Notice that we say "either...or" and "neither...nor." In informal English, most people would say "Neither Joan OR Jane LIKE sushi." That's
all right in conversation, but in formal documents you should prefer the formal usage.

Of course we have a confusing exception to this rule. You can use a plural verb if you have a plural noun next to the verb:
Either Joan or the Kennedys are going to the conference.

But put the singular noun closer to the verb, and it goes back to singular!
Either the Kennedys or Joan is going to the conference.

And it's the same with "neither":
Neither Jane nor her brothers like sushi.
Neither her brothers nor Jane likes sushi.

Of course the verb will be plural if both nouns are plural:
Either the Smiths or the Robinsons are meeting us at the station.
Neither the Canadians nor the Americans are interested in this problem.

Re: Singular or plural form of noun adjective

Mister Micawber — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:44:07 GMT

.
'Seemed' to have seen? Could you supply a link to teachers supply that means ' a supply of teachers'?-- at least, that is how I am interpreting your sentences. If they mean "a teachers' supply of chalk", then that is a different matter. Yes, usually the singular noun is used (as adjective) rather than a possessive form, either singular (teacher's) or plural (teachers')

I find you mission sentence odd, but you do not supply the surrounding context. Perhaps Missions is a proper name?

Re: Standard spoken English

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:00:04 GMT

Something to chew on:

THE NOTION OF STANDARD SPOKEN GRAMMAR

The term âstandard grammarâ is most typically associated with written language,
and is usually considered to be characteristic of the recurrent usage of adult,
educated native speakers of a language. Standard grammar ideally reveals no
particular regional bias. Thus âStandard British Englishâ grammar consists of items
and forms that are found in the written usage of adult educated native speakers
from Wales, Scotland and England and those Northern Irish users who consider
themselves part of the British English speech community.

The typical sources of evidence for standard usage are literary texts, quality
journalism, academic and professional writing, etc. Standard grammar is given the
status of the official record of educated usage by being written down in grammar
books and taught in schools and universities.

Spoken transcripts often have frequent occurrences of items and structures
considered incorrect according to the norms of standard written English. However,
many such forms are frequently and routinely used by adult, educated native speakers.

Examples of such structures are split infinitives (e.g. We decided to immediately sell it),
double negation (e.g. He wonât be late I donât think, as compared to I donât think he will
be late), singular nouns after plural measurement expressions (e.g. Heâs about six foot
tall), the use of contracted forms such as gonna (going to), wanna (want to), and so on.

Standard spoken English grammar will therefore be different from standard
written English grammar in many respects if we consider âstandardâ to be a
description of the recurrent spoken usage of adult native speakers. What may be
considered ânon-standardâ in writing may well be âstandardâ in speech.
Speech and writing are not independent. Although some forms of spoken
grammar do not appear in writing (unless in written dialogues), there is
considerable overlap and there is an increasing range of forms appearing in
informal written texts which previously were only considered acceptable in
speech. In 120 the presence of typically spoken grammatical forms contexts as emails and internet chat-room exchanges is discussed.

From: The Cambridge Grammar of English (GCE)