In this example, the jury acts as a unit; therefore, the verb is singular. Note, however, that inverted sentences in English have a subject-verb-correspondence peculiarity if the predicate is a noun phrase and not just a simple noun or pronoun. 10-A. Use a plural verb with one of these _____ If you read these two sentences at least a few times, the peculiarity of the subject-verb correspondence should sink. Subjects and verbs must correspond in number (singular or plural). So, if a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; If a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural. The example above implies that people other than Hannah like to read comics. Therefore, the plural verb is the correct form. In the example above, the plural verb corresponds to the closest subject actors. In the present tense, nouns and verbs form the plural in opposite ways: this may come as a surprise, but when an English sentence is reversed, the form of the connection verb must correspond to the number – and, of course, the tense – of the singular noun phrase to its left, rather than the plural subject to its right.
Thus, for the normative sentence “Your pre-trial antics are an unnecessary complication,” the grammatically correct reverse construction is “An unnecessary complication is their pre-trial antics.” Perhaps a clearer and more practical way to describe this peculiarity subject-verb-correspondence of inverted sentences is that if the subject and predicate of a sentence differ in number, the connection verb corresponds to the number of the noun phrase to its left. For this reason, the normative phrase “What I need are two round-trip bookings to Puerto Princesa” goes back to “Two round-trip bookings to Puerto Princesa are what I need”. Sugar is countless; therefore, the theorem has a singular verb. However, we must bear in mind that inverted sentences in English have a peculiarity subject-verb-correspondence if their predicate is a noun sentence, and I would like to acknowledge that this must have been what must have annoyed Marianne when she raised her follow-up question about the reverse construction of the copulular verb or binding. But what happens when a normative phrase like, for example, “your harmful antics are an unnecessary complication” takes the opposite form? Do we say or write “An unnecessary complication is their antics before the trial” or “An unnecessary complication is their antics before the trial”? 12. Use a singular verb for each _____ and a few ____ Another example: the normative phrase “Women who parade in swimsuits are definitely a pleasant show” is reversed in “Certainly a pleasant show are women who parade in swimsuits”. 3. Composite subjects related by the plural and always in the plural. In this example, politics is a single issue; therefore, the theorem has a singular verb. However, this peculiarity does not come into play when there is no difference in number between the subject and the predicate, as in this inverted sentence she presented: “The winners of the contests were them.” Its normative form is natural: “They were the winners of the competitions.” Note that, on the other hand, its inverted form has “contest winners” as the plural subject, the subject “they” as the plural predicate, and the past plural word “were” as the connection verb. Even if no sentence inversion is involved, we must keep in mind that this subject-verb match rule generally applies in English even if the subject and predicate of a sentence are both in the form of noun sentences (as opposed to autonomous nouns or pronouns) and whether they differ in number or person. In such cases, the form of the connection verb “be” coincides with the previous noun phrase – the one to the left of the sentence – even if that noun phrase is not logically the subject.
1. A sentence or clause between the subject and the verb does not change the number of the subject. Note: In this example, the subject of the sentence is the pair; therefore, the verb must correspond to it. (Since scissors are the object of preposition, scissors have no effect on the number of verbs.) 4. For composite subjects linked by ou/ or, the verb corresponds to the subject closer to it. . 7. The titles of individual entities (books, organizations, countries, etc.) are always singular.
Visit Jose Carillo`s English Forum, josecarilloforum.com. Follow me on Facebook, www.facebook.com/jacarillo and Twitter.com @J8Carillo. Email: [email protected]. . Next topic: What constitutes a dependent clause in the reported speech. EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL: some, some, none, all, most. 6. Collective nouns (group, jury, ensemble, team, etc.) can be singular or plural, depending on their meaning.
So we say, “The immediate cause of his disturbing situation is the obscene video clips discovered in his cell phone” and not “The immediate cause of his troubling situation is the obscene video clips discovered in his cell phone.” Therefore, we do not say, “The immediate cause of his disturbing situation is the suggestive video clips discovered in his cell phone,” but say, “The immediate cause of his troubling situation is the salacious video clips discovered in his cell phone.” . . . .