Search results for 'tag:Tenses tag:Plurals' matching tags 'Tenses' and 'Plurals'

Re: Plural or Singular?

CalifJim — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:22:34 GMT

Just when [those] who were watching form the sidelines feared [the worst], the athletes [themselves] [are] the most confident.

are should be were. It's a past tense sentence. (See verbs in blue.)

(By the way, verbs don't modify nouns. are is a verb. athletes is a noun.)

Re: where vs. were

Philip — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:54:42 GMT

In a nutshell:
where = question word regarding location; the vowel is pronounced as it let; even though it is spelled wh..., the initial sound is actually that of hw.

were = the past tense of the plural forms of to be. The vowel is pronounced as schwa (a relaxed the)

Where were you last night should have two distinct pronunciations.

Re: Should I use "was or were" in this sentence?

alproud — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:11:57 GMT

i think that "was" is the right form to be used in this case because was represents the singular form of past tense and were the plural. The curtain is certainly singular.

Re: id/t/d

Philip — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:27:10 GMT

CB's explanation is 100% right on. It is a linguistic question dealing with phonology.

By the way, the same principle is in play with the plural noun ending 's/es': 's' after a non-voiced consonant (lamps, desks); 'z' after a voiced consonant or a vowel (dogs, monkeys); and 'iz' after the sound of 's' or 'z' (classes, noises).

The same with the third person singular of the present tense of verbs: 's' (hits); 'z' (plays); and 'iz' (misses).

(Printing note: in my examples, and in CB's, the vowel indicated as 'i' should be the schwa (Ó) sound.

Re: singular / plural

Cool Breeze — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:16:59 GMT

Goodman
<<<<and "most grammarians accept "there was/were a television, a radio, a sofa and a table" >>> I guess I am not a grammarian.
I personally won't say "there were a television.."

No, I didn't think you would. To a grammarian, there is more to it than the next word. There are at least three views on this.

1. The rule of proximity: The first word after the verb is singular (a television), so a singular verb (was) can/should be used.

2. The rule of number: If only one thing is mentioned, use a singular verb (was); if more things are mentioned, use a plural verb (were). I remember a British graduate of Oxford University who lectured on English Philology at Helsinki University and was an enthusiastic proponent of this rule. He considered was wrong in cases like this. Similarly, he considered media is and algae is always wrong as well. I use the past tense because he is no longer alive.

3. Liberal grammarians, who don't really care which one of the above rules is applied. (As I said, I'm one of them!)

Re: Is this question grammatically correct?

Clive — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:31:30 GMT

Hi,

What did they wear before they started to prepare the cake? This is correct grammar. However, 'wear' is not a suitable word here. Say What did they put on before they started to prepare the cake?

Answer: They were an apron.
The past tense of 'wear' is 'wore', not 'were'. However, say 'put on'.
'They' is plural, so it's better to use the plural 'aprons'.
They put on aprons.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: grammar question?

CalifJim — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:19:37 GMT

(1) In 1978, a year or so before The Wall was released, Gilmour filed his first solo project, appropriately titled David Gilmour. While the songs don't approach the sublime heights of his best 1970s work, the album does have enjoyable moments, like the rockin' "Cry from the Street" and the poignant "So Far Away,"one of his best vocal turns.

Should it be didn't? Please clarify. No. It should be don't. When speaking of the contents of an artistic work which is currently available to all for examination use the present tense. It doesn't matter when the work was first created.

The plot of the play, written in 1598, is complex.

The songs, released five years ago, are not very melodic.

(2) Twisted Sister join Metallica for their second European tour which started on June 6 and lasted until June 10th. It was soon after this tour that Metallica had their first meeting with future manager and future record label Chris Burnstein from Q Prime, this happened on August 1, 1984. Metallica let the old manager Jon Zazula go on the August 2.

Should it be "joined" or "joins"? Is go okay? Please check in the above sentence. Twisted Sister is a group, so the notional plural join is used. go is OK. The grammar of let is as follows:

let [object] [base form of verb] Let my people go. We let the boys play until 5:30. Don't let them see us.

(3) This is unfortunate, and almost guarantee that the disagreements and accusations will persist among Jimi and the various factions of the Hendrix family.

Should it guarantees? Yes. But maybe two or more things are mentioned in the preceding text which are being referenced here.

(4) Hendrix returned to New York City for more club gigs. In July he saw Fank Zappa, whose band the Mothers of Invention were playing at an adjacent club.

Should it be was? Again the notional plural is used.

(5) He did this by melting plastic bottles into a ball and then using a soldering iron to make holes for his fingers. He fit his fingers into the plastic was it was still pliable enough to be shaped.

Does the bold phrase make sense? Please rephrase for clarity of thought. Typo. It should be while it was still pliable.

(6) Not since Eddie Van Halen has a guitar player been as influential to the prevailing sound of rock music.

Should it be as? No. a guitar player has (not) been as influential is the normal order. The inversion is required after the initial negative not since....

Re: grammar question?

Avangi — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:49:30 GMT

(1) (Use simple present, "don't.") The album is eternal, so to speak, and critics may continue to make comments in the present, eg., the album does have enjoyable moments.

(2) Use "joined." All the other comments here are in simple past. "Go" doesn't really have a tense here. It's the bare infinitive. They let him [to] go. The sentence is in simple past because of "let."

People sometimes use present tense for a narrative like this but at this stage you should avoid mixing tenses unless you have a good reason to do so.

(3) Yes. It's simple present tense, 3rd person singular: "it guarantees."

(4) It's your choice. The band is singular but the members are plural. When you say "whose band" it leans a little toward singular, "whose band was playing."

(5) while it was still pliable enough to be shaped.

(6) Has is correct. (I would think "influential in the prevailing sound" or "influential in creating the prevailing sound" or "has a guitar player had so great an influence on the prevailing sound" - I don't know - I'm not happy with any of them. Maybe someone else will have an idea.)

Memos show Clinton turmoil

Jackson6612 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:05:10 GMT

Memos show Clinton turmoil

Question: I would have written ''Clinton's turmoil''. Why didn't the author use apostrophe?

BY CRAIG GORDON AND TOM BRUNE | <email addresses removed by mod.>
August 13, 2008

Question: Why is semicolon used instead of comma to separate the email addresses above?

WASHINGTON - In a fresh postmortem (=an examination of a plan or event that failed, done to discover why it failed, =autopsy) on Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid (=attempt to obtain or do something), newly published staff memos (=a short official note to another person in the same company or organization) and e-mails reveal a campaign hobbled (=to hobble something or someone means to make it more difficult for them to be successful or to achieve what they want) by internal rivalries (=a situation in which two or more people, teams, or companies are competing for something), faulty planning, bloated (=more than needed, =excessive) spending - and perhaps most important, Clinton's own failure to make the hard decisions.

Clinton offered herself to voters as a hyper-competent (=extra competent) executive ready to be president from day one. But atop (=on top of something) her own campaign, she was a hesitant leader, who allowed bitter infighting (=when members of the same group or organization argue, or compete with each other in an unfriendly way) to fester (=If an argument or bad feeling festers, it continues so that feelings of hate or dissatisfaction increase) among staffers over whether to go negative against Barack Obama, according to the Atlantic magazine.

The most bare-knuckled (=characterized by disorderly action and disregard for rules) lines of attack came from Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, who urged Clinton to highlight Obama's "lack of American roots" due to his upbringing in Indonesia and Hawaii - saying he could only win if he faced Attila the Hun ((?406-453 AD) a king of the Huns (=an ancient people from Asia) who attacked and took control of large parts of the Roman Empire. He is famous for being violent and cruel).

But Clinton didn't embrace Penn's flag-waving (=the expression of strong national feelings, especially when these feelings seem too extreme) approach (=way of doing something), which campaign aides (=someone whose job is to help someone who has an important job, especially a politician) insist was never seriously considered.

Question: Clinton didn't embrace Penn's approach because she did not consider it seriously. Therefore, what campaign aides were saying is redundant.

The article also says that Clinton at times grew frustrated and short-tempered - including on the morning after her stunning third-place finish in Iowa in January, when aides on a call were silent. Clinton's camp dismissed the story as "inside-the-Beltway gossip" and "old news." And former campaign aides sharply disputed the notion of Clinton as an indecisive leader, with one campaign veteran saying, "Nobody seems to want to remember the fact that we had so many successes and come-from-behind victories in this campaign ... and they are due in large part to Senator Clinton's leadership."

Question: What does the line including on the morning...when aides on a call were silent mean? If she finished third place, then why would the author describe it as stunning? What does call mean in when aides on a call were silent?

Question: What does the phrase inside-the-Beltway gossip mean?

Question: What does the line Nobody seems to want to remember...to Senator Clinton's leadership'' mean?

But the e-mails and memos offer vivid (=very clear and detailed) new details about what had long been reported - that Clinton's headquarters was beset (=to make someone experience serious problems or dangers) by caustic (=bitter) internal battles involving Penn and former President Bill Clinton, who wanted to forcefully attack Obama, and others who wanted the New York senator to take a more positive tack (=method, =way of doing something). At one point, it was Bill Clinton - and not Hillary - who approved the famed 3 a.m. phone call ad.

Question: what had long been reported is passive past perfect tense. Am I right?

Question: I think headquarters should take plural verb. What do you say?

Question: Why are the hyphens used in -and not Hillary-? I believe commas would do instead?

Adding to the turmoil was the fact that the campaign had little strategy and no money left to seriously compete in the post-Super Tuesday contests - having (=the form having with a past participle can be used to introduce a clause in which you mention an action which had already happened before another action began) burned through $106 million before Iowa. That allowed Obama to win 12 straight contests and effectively wrap up (=to finish a job, meeting etc) the nomination.

Question: What does burned through mean?

In the end, the campaign's strategy came to reflect some of the internal turmoil, as Clinton veered (=changed course) from attacking Obama to emphasizing her personal side.

Question: What does her personal side mean?

Penn did offer some advice in March 2007 that proved on the mark - Clinton's path to victory lay with women and lower- and working-class voters.

Question: What does proved on the mark mean? I couldn't find it in the dictionary.

But by the time Clinton finally settled on that strategy to win the later primaries, it was too late.

Excerpts from the memos

"All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared towards showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting that in a new light ... It also exposes a very strong weakness for him - his roots to basic American values and culture are at best (=even when considered in the most positive way) limited. I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values." Strategist Mark Penn, from a March 19, 2007, memo to Hillary Rodham Clinton advising her to attack Barack Obama for his "lack of American roots."

Question: What does centre mean in the above context?

"The right knows Obama is unelectable except perhaps against Attila the Hun, and a third party would come in then anyway." Penn, from the same memo.

Question: Does right refer to right wing in the above context?

"This has been a very instructive call, talking to myself." Clinton, before angrily hanging up on a staff conference call the day after coming in third in Iowa in January. "She complained of being outmaneuvered (=to gain an advantage over someone by using cleverer or more skilful plans or methods) in Iowa and being painted as the establishment candidate," according to the Atlantic - but was met with near-silence.

Question: I would have written This has been..., talking to me. Why did she use myself?

Question: What is a conference call? Is it some kind of telephone call which address many poeple?

Question: Why is in used in coming in third?

"STOP IT!! I have help my tongue for weeks. After this morning's WP story, no longer. This makes me sick. This circular firing squad that is occurring is unattractive, unprofessional, unconscionable, and unacceptable ... It must stop." Robert Barnett, a Clinton lawyer and Washington insider, from a March 6, 2008, e-mail to campaign staff after a Washington Post story detailed the infighting.

Question: What does I have help my tongue for weeks mean?

Question: What does This circular firing squad mean?

Question: Were the comments in the last paragraph made by Robert Barnett?

Re: Was Rescuing or Rescued ( Past Continous or Past Tense)????

Grammar Geek — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:49:38 GMT

No. New2Grammar gave you that information.

All of these are possible

The fireman (singular) was rescuing the old woman (singular) who was trapped.

The firemen (plural) were rescuting the old woman (singular) who was trapped.

The fireman (singular) was rescuing the old women (plural) who were trapped.

The firemen (plural) were rescuting the old women (plural) who were trapped.

The fireman (singular) or firemen (plural) rescued the old woman (singular) who was trapped.

The fireman (singular) or firemen (plural) rescued the old women (plural) who were trapped.

What is NOT correct:

The firemen was, the fireman were, the old women was, the old woman were.