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

Re: Was or Were?

innamuris — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:29:00 GMT

As told by Richard, prepositional phrases cannot be subjects and so the subject of the sentence is 'Group'.

'Group' is a collective Noun. and Collective Nouns take 'singular verb'.

So 'was' is correct !

Re: lies/exist/stay

Avangi — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:27:17 GMT

User_gary
So do you mean the use of "lie/exist/stay" is correct in the above sentences?

Only in the second one. These are plural verbs and go with the plural noun, "glasses."

In your first sentence, the noun is singular (bucket) and requires singular verbs to go with it ("lies, exists"). It's sort of ironic that so many plural nouns end in "s" while the singular verbs end in "s."

- A.

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.

subject verb agreement ^^

dave_amateur — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:07:58 GMT

Please help to clarify. thanks alot peeps =]

1a) The good news she brings is encouraging. Yes, I am sure because news is always used with singular verbs.
      The good news they brings/bring is/are encouraging.

1b) The laptops she bring/brings is/are very stylish.
     The latptops they bring/brings is/are very stylish.

in the above, how do we determine whether the subjects are both news and laptops or 3rd persons (she and they)? or vice versa?
i believe they are both news and laptops?

2a) His spectacles are broken. Yes, i am sure because spectacles is always used with plural verbs.
      His pair of spectacles is/are broken.

2b) His shorts is/are torn?
      His pairs of shorts is/are torn?

Is both the pairs of short & spectacles considered as one noun or still plural.

3a) Music is where her talent lies. Yes i am sure this is correct.

3b) Music and writing is/are where her talent/talents lie/lies.

appreciate the help and clarification. thanks!
overall, is there any rude to abide in the abovementioned case? how to look out for subjects, so that my verbs are grammatically correct.
thanks for taking the time and effort!

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: fruit are?

Cool Breeze — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:01:32 GMT

Goodman

As written: John and Mary are the only officers who make decisions around here. And I asked if the answer should be [makes] or [make].
And you said "In your sentence of course make"

By the nature of your comment, didn't you just agree with my view?

Yes, as far as who is concerned. What is something else. It never has an antecedent as a relative pronoun, neither singular nor plural, nothing, and that's why a singular verb is used with it. This is obvious from the singular that, which occurs in that which, which is sometimes used to replace what.

You can of course check the grammatical behavior of relative what in any good grammar book if you don't believe me. I find it very strange that you haven't already done that. It would have saved you a lot of time wasted writing opinions instead of facts.

Re: terrorists

Yoong Liat — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:09:48 GMT

New2grammar
A team of soldiers were on a mission to capture or kill Al-Qaeda members in a remote village in Afghanistan. It was really dark in that area and they had to put on night vision goggles when they went into a suspected hideout. What they didn't know was the insurgents were waiting inside to ambush them. When the team had entered the house through a narrow corridor, the terrorists came out and opened fire from behind a fortified bunker.

Are there any mistakes?
Thanks.

26TM wrote: A team (being a collective noun) of soldiers" is sometimes followed by a singular verb which is not so suitable for your case.

In BrE, it is fine to use 'they' with a collective.

A team of soldiers were on a mission to capture or kill Al-Qaeda members in a remote village in Afghanistan. It was really dark in that area and they had to put on night vision goggles when they went into a suspected hideout

were. they, they (all plural, so they are consistent)

Re: terrorists

26TMNTJG2PG — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:54:21 GMT

None, but to be hypercritical, I would like to say:

"A team (being a collective noun) of soldiers" is sometimes followed by a singular verb which is not so suitable for your case.

In a "fortified bunker", 'fortified' is tautologous since 'bunker' has in its meaning the element of fortification, but I have no objection to its use here because like the term free gifts (another tautology), I have seen such term being used frequently.

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.

Re: live /lives?

Avangi — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:56:26 GMT

The important plural in your sentences is "those." People often misuse "their" as a singular, and "who" may be either singular or plural.

If you wanted to express the same thought in the singular, you might use the singular "whoever" in place of the plural "those." "I feel sorry for whoever lacks faith in his life."

this gets messy because of the gender issue. People (me, for instance) don't like to use "his or her," so they replace these singular pronouns with the plural "their," and say, "I feel sorry for whoever lacks faith in their life." This is a real mess. Note that "whoever lacks" has a singular subject and a singular verb.

If a man were leading two lives, the possessive pronoun (his) would still have to be singular: "I feel sorry for the man who lacks faith in his lives," just like, "I feel sorry for the man who lacks strength in his legs." "Legs" is plural, but "his" must be singular because "man" is singular.

Best wishes, - A.

Edit. About the ambiguity, my question is, where exactly is the faith lacking? Do YOU lack faith, or does you LIFE lack faith? For example, you'd say that YOU lack courage, or your LIFE lacks excitement. But "faith" can work either way. "I don't have enough faith in the way my life will turn out." "My life doesn't seem to have enough faith in it." (faith, as an ingredient in my life)

Make any sense??