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

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: 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??

Subject verb agreement

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:55:38 GMT

Please kindly indicate the correct answers for the following questions and justifications to the answers.

1. They do these things so quietly that nobody is ever sure of what (is/ are) happening.

2. Various kinds of food (has /have) been already been prepared. Come and help yourself to (it/them).

I suppose food is an uncountable noun, so i assume singular verb is appropriate. But i aint sure about the following pronoun.

Need the answers urgently. Thank you.

Awence

Re: everyone looks like they are

Yoong Liat — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:02:26 GMT

Philip wrote:
Yoong Liat wrote:

Anduy wrote:
Everyone looks like they are enjoying the party.
Everyone look like they are enjoying the party.

Please tell me which sentence is the correct one.
Thank you.

Although 'everyone' means 'all the people', a singular verb has to be used.

Every apple is rotten.

Every one of the apples is rotten.

Every one of my friends is helpful.

Everyone is helpful.

Everybody is helpful.

As long as you see 'every' in a sentence the verb in such constructions has to be singular.

Correct. Assuming you are a teacher, I'm wondering if you have a way of explaining to your students what you have said here and then using a plural pronoun (they) to refer to the singular antecedent. I can't explain it to my own native logic.

Could you give me an example of such a sentence so that I can hope to explain, using my non-native logic?

Re: everyone looks like they are

Philip — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:08:09 GMT

Yoong Liat wrote:

Anduy wrote:
Everyone looks like they are enjoying the party.
Everyone look like they are enjoying the party.

Please tell me which sentence is the correct one.
Thank you.

Although 'everyone' means 'all the people', a singular verb has to be used.

Every apple is rotten.

Every one of the apples is rotten.

Every one of my friends is helpful.

Everyone is helpful.

Everybody is helpful.

As long as you see 'every' in a sentence the verb in such constructions has to be singular.

Correct. Assuming you are a teacher, I'm wondering if you have a way of explaining to your students what you have said here and then using a plural pronoun (they) to refer to the singular antecedent. I can't explain it to my own native logic.

Re: which/that

Goodman — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:36:29 GMT

Hi Kooyen,

Speaking from experience, there is really no easy and clear way to explain to the learners why collective noun can be viewed as singular in some context and plural in the others. As Iâve emphasized many times before. Context dictates how we should select the verbs and how words are used. Iâve found the best way to learn natural English is to listen to narrators of education programs on TV. Programs like Discovery and History Channels are broadcast in countries all over the free world. These programs have been proven instrumentally helpful to me. Here is something to favour onâ¦..

The Collective Noun

Recognize a collective noun when you see one.

Nouns name people, places, and things. Collective nouns, a special class, name groups [things] composed of members [usually people]. Check out the chart below:

army
audience
board
cabinet
class
committee
company
corporation council
department
faculty
family
firm
group
jury
majority minority
navy
public
school
senate
society
team
troupe

Use correct verbs and pronouns with collective nouns.

Each noun from the list above is a single thing. That thing, however, is made up of more than one person. You cannot have a committee, team, or family of one; you need at least two people who compose the unit.

Because people behave as both herd animals and solitary creatures, collective nouns can be either singular or plural, depending on context. In writing, this double status often causes agreement errors. How do you tell if a collective noun is singular or plural? What verbs and pronouns do you use with the collective noun?

Here is the key: Imagine a flock of pigeons pecking at birdseed on the ground. Suddenly, a cat races out of the bushes. What do the pigeons do? They fly off as a unit in an attempt to escape the predator, wheeling through the sky in the same direction.

People often behave in the same manner, doing one thing in unison with the other members of their group. When these people are part of a collective noun, that noun becomes singular and requires singular verbs and pronouns. As you read the following examples, notice that all members of the collective noun are doing the same thing at the same time:

Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field for practice.

Team = singular; follows = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the team arrive at the same place at the same time.

Today, Dr. Ribley's class takes its first 100-item exam.

Class = singular; takes = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the class are testing at the same time.

The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough evidence, so its verdict is not guilty.

Jury = singular; agrees = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the jury are thinking the same way.

After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower, change into their street clothes, and head to their air-conditioned homes.

Team = plural; shower, change, head = plural verbs; their = a plural pronoun. The teammates are dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different directions for their individual homes.

After the long exam, the class start their research papers on famous mathematicians.

Class = plural; start = a plural verb; their = a plural pronoun. The students are beginning their own research papersâin different places, at different times, on different mathematicians.

The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge that they are hopelessly deadlocked.

Jury = plural; disagree, have told = plural verbs; they = a plural pronoun. Not everyone on the jury is thinking the same way.

Whenever you cannot decide if a collective noun is singular or plural, exercise your options as a writer. You have two ways that you can compose the sentence without causing an agreement error: 1) insert the word members after the collective noun [jury members, committee members, board members], or 2) use an entirely different word [players instead of team, students instead of class, soldiers instead of army]. Then you can use plural verbs and pronouns without worrying about making mistakes or sounding unnatural.

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Â©1997 - 2007 by Robin L. Simmons

Re: Verb Tense Issues

Clive — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:54:18 GMT

Hi,

1. I had to help him because he is my friend.

I am confused if the use of the verb "is" in the dependent clause is correct. There is a rule that if the verb in the independent clause is in its past or past perfect form, the verb in the dependent or subordinated clause should also be in its past or past perfect form. However, I know that there are exceptions to this rule--such as when the object of the verb is a general or widespread fact. I am not sure if I can classify the statement above as falling under this exception. Do I use "is" or "was"?

'Was' is always correct.However, as you know, you can sometimes say 'is'. Here, it would be OK if 'he' is still your friend, and if the past event was in the reasonably recent past. eg If I helped him 50 seconds ago, I'd use 'is'. If I helped him 50 years ago - I'd say 'was'.

2. We said that the title of the book is/was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

In this case, I am more inclined to use the verb "is" because I do not think that the clause "We said" is the independent clause. There is a rule which states that if the verb in the independent clause is in a form other than the two I previously mentioned, there is no need to stick to the "should also be in the past or past perfect form" rule. My confusion lies in whether or not "the title of the book is/was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is the independent clause, considering that it is preceded by the dependent marker "that." Please advise. To some degree, what I said above also applies here. To some degree, it also depends on whether we are talking about a specific copy of a book which is not present here but was present at the time of the past discussion, in which case I'd prefer 'was'. I wouldn't really look first at the grammar, as you seem to be doing.

3. Do/Does any of you dance? AND Was/Were any of you called? "Any" is the subject in the abovementioned sentences, right? According to this grammar book I read, "any" is a problematic subject because it can either be singular or plural. Yes. In his Practical English Usage, Michael Swan notes that When 'any of' is followed by a plural noun or pronoun, the verb can be singular or plural. A singular verb is more common in a formal style. I prefer 'do/were' here.

How do I know when to consider it singular/plural? Please advise. The same way that you know any word is singular or plural. As a simple example, consider Is any of the wall painted? Are any of the walls painted?

In your example, when you say 'you', are you referring to more than one person? Yes.

4. If I am narrating a story that happened in the past, do I always have to use verbs that are in their past tense? What if part of my narration involves something that is true until now? Sorry, I have to rush out. I'll try to come back later.

Example:

I used to work for this company in the city. My building there is/was near medical and recreational facilities. One day, my back was in so much pain that I had to ask my secretary to browse the city directory and look for the closest spa to where my office is/was. She found one that is/was five minutes away. After office hours, I decided to proceed to the spa to have my massage. When I finally reached my destination, I was shocked to see that my boss was also there.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: either, have

Goodman — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:20:35 GMT

Anonymous wrote:
Interesting...

When used as a pronoun, either is normally singular and takes a singular verb: The two surgeons disagree with each other more than either does (not do) with the pathologist. But when either is followed by of and a plural noun, it is often used with a plural verb: Either of the parties have enough support to form a government. As frequent as this usage may be, it is widely regarded as incorrect. Ninety-two percent of the Usage Panel rejected it in an earlier survey.

I agree with you. I thought it should be singular when I first looked at it. This is why English is so crazy! Context is sometime the determining factor as to how similar contents in separate sentence would have different verb/word agreements. These are the examples:

_{Optimizing Programs over the Constructive Reals Abstract Introduction}

Then, when either x or y have too little accuracy. to be output as specified, we recalculate them both. at the next higher precision. We trade off spending ...
_{Political Debate - messages #201419 .18}

I do not think either you or I have sufficient information on which to judge what Blackwater did or did not do and whether or not their actions were correct ...

_________________________________________________________________________

Oh the flip side:

_{TheSabre.com - "The Corner" - General Discussion Message Board Message}

Subject: Either one has no business occuring in a residential neighborhood. **. Posted by: DoubleDown2 on Thu Oct 11 2007 2:19:06 PM. Message: ...
www.thesabre.com/message_board/general/2007/October/11/570461.php - 3 hours ago - Similar pages

_{Captain's Quarters}

Either one has to believe that Supreme Court justices have to be vetted for ideology or that the process should be non-political. ...

I think in the context of Journey's two songs, "either" was used in the context, not neither because of the "two songs" which resulted in (plural verb in negative)"haven't".

When more than one subject is specified in the "either" context, plural form of the verb is required.

Re: either, have

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:39:48 GMT

Interesting...

When used as a pronoun, either is normally singular and takes a singular verb: The two surgeons disagree with each other more than either does (not do) with the pathologist. But when either is followed by of and a plural noun, it is often used with a plural verb: Either of the parties have enough support to form a government. As frequent as this usage may be, it is widely regarded as incorrect. Ninety-two percent of the Usage Panel rejected it in an earlier survey.

Re: One of the ... that ...

Zj.frank — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:37:23 GMT

Tanit wrote:

Hi, good question!

I was wandering whether a slightly different point of view exists as for the subject of the sentence:
He is one [of the few] that knows the solution to the problem.
or
He is one of the few that know the solution to the problem.

After some research, I came across this:

"one of those who. Constructions such as one of those people who pose a different problem. Many people argue that who should be followed by a plural verb in these sentences, as in He is one of those people who just donât take ânoâ for an answer. Their thinking is that the relative pronoun who refers to the plural noun people, not to one. They would extend the rule to constructions with inanimate nouns, as in The sports car turned out to be one of the most successful products that were ever manufactured in this country.

But the use of the singular verb in these constructions is common, even among the best writers. In an earlier survey, 42 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the use of the singular verb in such constructions. Itâs really a matter of which word you feel is most appropriate as the antecedent of the relative pronounâ one or the plural noun in the of phrase that follows it. Note also that when the phrase containing one is introduced by the definite article, the verb in the relative clause must be singular: He is the only one of the students who has (not have) already taken Latin."

For what it's worth, heere are the Google search results for
"one of the few of that" and
"one of the few of who" in the BBC website only. If you consider only sentences in simple present , you will find both "have" and "has", "do" and "does" and so on.

Thanks, Tanit!

I was writing my previous reply while you posted this one.

The link you provided is really useful.

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

Re: fruit are?

Re: live /lives?

Subject verb agreement

Re: everyone looks like they are

Re: everyone looks like they are

Re: which/that

The Collective Noun

Recognize a collective noun when you see one.

Use correct verbs and pronouns with collective nouns.

Home â¢ Terms â¢ Exercises â¢ Handouts â¢ Rules â¢ Shop â¢ Feedback

Â©1997 - 2007 by Robin L. Simmons

Re: Verb Tense Issues

Re: either, have

Optimizing Programs over the Constructive Reals Abstract Introduction

Captain's Quarters

Re: either, have

Re: One of the ... that ...

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_{Optimizing Programs over the Constructive Reals Abstract Introduction}

_{Captain's Quarters}