Search results for 'tag:Singular verbs tag:Dates' matching tags 'Singular verbs' and 'Dates'

Re: majority is or are??

Goodman — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:06:41 GMT

I'll say it depends. It may have to do with what context it's used but by and large, I see it as more frequently used in singular context.

The American Heritage^Â® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

majority

SYLLABICATION:	maÂ·jorÂ·iÂ·ty
PRONUNCIATION:	m-jÃ´r-t, -jr-
NOUN:	Inflected forms: pl. maÂ·jorÂ·iÂ·ties 1. The greater number or part; a number more than half of the total. 2. The amount by which the greater number of votes cast, as in an election, exceeds the total number of remaining votes. 3. The political party, group, or faction having the most power by virtue of its larger representation or electoral strength. 4. Law The status of having reached full legal age, with attendant rights and responsibilities. 5. The military rank, commission, or office of a major. 6. Obsolete The fact or state of being greater; superiority.
ETYMOLOGY:	French majoritÃ©, from Medieval Latin mirits, from Latin mior, greater. See meg- in Appendix I.
USAGE NOTE:	When majority refers to a particular number of votes, it takes a singular verb: Her majority was five votes. His majority has been growing by 5 percent every year. When it refers to a group of persons or things that are in the majority, it may take either a singular or plural verb, depending on whether the group is considered as a whole or as a set of people considered individually. So we say The majority elects (not elect) the candidate it wants (not they want), since the election is accomplished by the group as a whole; but The majority of the voters live (not lives) in the city, since living in the city is something that each voter does individually. â¢Majority is often preceded by great (but not by greater) in expressing emphatically the sense of âmost ofâ: The great majority approved. The phrase greater majority is appropriate only when considering two majorities: He won by a greater majority in this election than in the last.

Indefinite pronouns

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:09:33 GMT

Dear members,

Today I have learnt a new rule which i want to share with you to validate of its accuracy.

Rule: Anyone, someone, no one, none, either, everyone, each--are singular and should take a singular verb and be followed by he, him his, and not they, them, their.

e.g. Each stood with his right hand behind his back

Will it be marked incorrect if i write Each stood with their right hand behind their back? or

e.g: Anyone can do it if he tries his best. Would it be wrong if I say type Anyone can do it if he/she tries his/her best.

Thank you

Re: Each of the three networks (singular or plural)?

Philip — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 15:03:14 GMT

Grammarian-bot wrote:
Broadcast is a plural verb. Is it connected to each or networks or each of the three major networks?

Although it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial whenever each of the three major networks broadcast exactly the same statement from a political candidate.

Is each of the three major netwroks is singular or plural? Since I am using is in this question it must be singular. This means we cannot use broadcast wity either each or each of the three netwroks Iif it's singular for sure).

GB

Because of its proximity to "three major networks, the plural verb may sound better to some ears. 'Each', however, requires a singular verb.

Re: If it WERE/WAS mine...

Mister Micawber — Wed, 03 May 2006 01:15:24 GMT

In all indicative mood sentences, it is a singular pronoun taking the singular verb. The example that you have exhumed, however, is a use of the subjunctive were used in conditional sentences stating a present condition contrary to fact (the trophy is not in fact the speaker's). Were appears with all subjects in this type of sentence:

If it were raining now, I would be very wet.
If I were king, I would rid the nation of its woes.
If she were cuter, I would ask her for a date.
If they were rich, they wouldn't be borrowing my car.
etc.

This use of the subjunctive is quite formal these days, and you will often see was in the place of were with1st and 3rd person singular subjects.

Re: do/does

Goodman — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 18:36:59 GMT

To validate my own understanding, I went online to find this:

USAGE NOTE In American usage government always takes a singular verb. In British usage government, in the sense of a governing group of officials, takes a plural verb: The government are determined to follow this course. See Usage Notes at collective noun.

Re: opposite of postpone

Ryanz0r — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 23:29:08 GMT

I attempt to refrain from using whole phrases to express an action, as singular verbs sound more professional, but you could simply use "to bring forward."

"I would like to bring the date of the meeting forward" or "I would like to bring forward the date of the meeting."

Re: Neither/nor 2 subjects+plural verb

Casi — Sat, 25 Sep 2004 14:06:05 GMT

The OED (Oxford English Dictionary) cites examples of English usage from as far back as there are texts to draw from. The examples we're looking at are not current. Take a look at the dates listed: 1759, 1777, 1786, 1830, 1874.

What you taught your students is correct.

EX: Neither he nor she is happy. (Singular Subjects + Singular Verb)
EX: Neither the Smiths nor the Thompsons are happy. (Plural Subjects + Plural Verb)

Cheers

Re: Grammer Check

anon1 — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 07:05:13 GMT

Data,

It's an interesting question. I saw two usage notes.

From GuruNet.com...

Let's go through them.

USAGE NOTE The word data is the plural of Latin datum, âsomething given,â but it is not always treated as a plural noun in English. The plural usage is still common, as this headline from the New York Times attests: âData Are Elusive on the Homeless.â Sometimes scientists think of data as plural, as in These data do not support the conclusions. But more often scientists and researchers think of data as a singular mass entity like information, and most people now follow this in general usage. Sixty percent of the Usage Panel accepts the use of data with a singular verb and pronoun in the sentence Once the data is in, we can begin to analyze it. A still larger number, 77 percent, accepts the sentence We have very little data on the efficacy of such programs, where the quantifier very little, which is not used with similar plural nouns such as facts and results, implies that data here is indeed singular.

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The American HeritageÂ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright Â© 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

From the above note, it appears that singular is fine.

From Merriam-Webster Online dictionary...

usage Data leads a life of its own quite independent of datum, of which it was originally the plural. It occurs in two constructions: as a plural noun (like earnings), taking a plural verb and plural modifiers (as these, many, a few) but not cardinal numbers, and serving as a referent for plural pronouns (as they, them); and as an abstract mass noun (like information), taking a singular verb and singular modifiers (as this, much, little), and being referred to by a singular pronoun (it). Both constructions are standard. The plural construction is more common in print, evidently because the house style of several publishers mandates it.

I can't figure out what M-W is saying. Can you? I think you can choose your own rule with M-W and point to the appropriate sentences in M-W's explanation for support.

Me, I often use data as a singular noun.

Hope this helps.

MountainHiker