Lecture 9 Subject-verb concord (1) Objectives: 1. Three guiding
principles 2. Problems of concord with nouns ending in s 3.
Problems of concord with collective nouns as subject
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Lecture 9 Subject-verb concord (1) By subject- verb concord is
meant agreement between subject and predicate verb in number. 1.
Guiding Principles: There are three principles guiding Subject-
verb concord; they are : principles of grammatical concord notional
concord proximity
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1) Grammatical concord The principle of grammatical concord
refers to the rule that the verb must match its subject in number.
If the subject is plural, the verb should take the plural form; on
the other hand, the subject is singular or is a mass noun, the verb
should take the singular form. eg:
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1) Grammatical concord Both boys have their own merits. Every
girl comes on time. Much effort is wasted. The results of the
research are to be published soon. The theory advanced by these
scientists is quit convincing.
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2) Notional concord The principle of notional concord refers to
the rule that the verb can sometimes agrees with the subject
according to the notion of number rather than to the actual
presence of the grammatical marker for that notion. eg:.
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2) Notional concord The government have discussed the matter
for a long time but they have shown no signs of reaching an
agreement. The government is doing its best to boost production
Fifteen miles seems a long walk to me. Fifty-six dollars was stolen
from the cash register.
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3) Proximity The principle of proximity denotes agreement of
the verb with a closed preceding noun phrase in preference to
agreement with the head of the noun phrase that functions as
subject. Such principle is always used in the following
constructions: Or; eitheror; neither nor; not only but also.
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3) Proximity Either my brothers or my sister is coming. Not
only children but also he himself wants to go there. Here is a pen,
a few envelopes and some paper for you. There are two chairs and a
desk in the room.
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Note: In the Here be and There be construction, If the subject
includes two or more than two nouns, the verb form is used
according to the principle of proximity. 1. Guiding Principles
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Note that grammatical concord is the basic principle, but when
the subject is realized by a collective noun, a coordinate form or
an expression of quantity, the other two principles will have to be
considered.
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2. Problems of concord with nouns ending in s There are quite a
few nouns that end in s but which are not countable. Some words are
always plural in form but singular in meaning. All this can be
dealt with under the following headings.
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1) Disease and game names ending in s Names of diseases ending
in s are mostly treated as singular, but there are a few such names
as measles and rickets ) which can be used either as singular or as
plural. Mumps is a kind of infectious disease. Phlebitis is a
swollen condition of the blood vessels.
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2) Game names ending in s Game names ending in s are generally
used as singular with the exception of cards which is usu. treated
as plural. Darts is essentially a free and easy game. Marbles is
one of the oldest games and was not confined to children. Marbles
vary in kind and quality.
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3) Subject names ending in ics Names of subjects ending in ics
are generally singular nouns, but some such nouns are treated as
plural when used in other senses than subject names. Compare:
Economics is a required course for all the students. The economics
of the project are still being considered.
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Acoustics is one of the oldest of the physical science. The
acoustics of the new concert hall are excellent. His mathematics
are quite correct. 3) Subject names ending in ics
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4) Geographical names ending in s Geographical names such as
the names of archipelagos mountain ranges,straits and falls are
used as plural, except for a few treated as singular when used as
country names, (the united nations, the Netherlands) The Himalayas
have a magnificent variety of plant and animal life. The straits of
Gibraltar have not lost their strategic importance.
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4) Geographical names ending in s EX: (1) The United States ___
( is, are )a country of people with varied origins. (2) The New
York Times____ (is, are) a good newspaper. (3) Star Wars ____ (was,
were) a good movie. Answer: is Is. was
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5) Other nouns ending in s Names for things made of two parts
such as scissors, pincers( )glasses, shorts, trousers, suspenders
stockings tongs ect are usu. used as plural But when they are
preceded by such unit nouns as a pair of and two pairs of, the
number form of the following verb is generally determined by the
number marker of the unit noun. Joes new trousers are black and
white. A pair of pliers is missing from my tool box.
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5) Other nouns ending in s Nouns ending in ings such as
clippings, diggings, etc are generally used as plural with the
exception of tidings which can be used both ways. The sweepings of
the godown have been disposed of. Good tidings( news, information)
have cheered them up. The tidings has come a little too late.
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Subject-verb concord(1) Note: There are also nouns such as
barracks and headquarters whose singular and plural number share
the same form. These nouns are treated as plural when used in the
plural sense, or vice versa. such as : headquarters, means, series,
species, works, sheep, deer, fish, wild dark buffalo, aircraft,
hovercraft, Chinese, Japanese, Swiss etc.
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Subject-verb concord(1) There (are, is) five sheep on the farm,
but there are only three goats. They caught a lot of fish this
morning. They are all Swiss. The species of fish are numerous. This
species of rose is very rare. Every means has been tried.
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EX 1) Riches ___ (is, are) not always dependable. 2) The goods
____ (is, are) to be exported to Canada. 3) The martyrs remains
____( were, was) buried in the churchyard. 4) Here ___ (is, are)
the remains of a temple. 5) The remains of the meal ____ (were,
was) fed to the dog. Answer: 1) are 2) are 3) were 4 is 5) were/was
Subject-verb concord(1)
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3. Problems of concord with collective nouns as subject
Collective nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning. The
choice between grammatical and notional concord is mostly dictated
(decided) by usage. 1)Collective nouns of living things usu. used
as plural. These include people, police, militia; cattle, poultry;
vermin, bacteria etc.
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The cattle were still grazing in the fields. The militia were
on the spot when spies were arrested. Such vermin as bugs and rats
are hard to get rid of. The poultry have done mischief among the
flowers in our garden. 1)Collective nouns used as plural
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2)Collective nouns used as singular Collective nouns usu. used
as singular. They are foliage, machinery, equipment, furniture,
merchandise. The merchandise has arrived undamaged. All the
machinery in the factory is made in china. The green foliage was
restful.
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3) Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular There
are collective nouns that can be used either as plural or as
singular. The choice of the verb form depends on the exact meaning
of the noun in a specific context. When the noun is used in sense
of the individuals that make the collective, the verb takes the
plural form. When the noun is used in sense of the whole unit, the
verb takes the singular form.
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3) Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular Such
collective nouns as : audience, family, board, class, crew, group,
enemy, committee. army, class, club, offspring, company, crowd,
crew, couple, jury, party, staff, team, public, faculty, board,
band, council, herd, flock, gang.
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Exercise: 1) The audience_____ (be ) enormous. 2) The audience
____ (be) excited at the report made by the old soldier. 3) The
committee ____(have) considered your request. 4) The committee
____(be) divided in their pinion. 5) The football team ___being
reorganized. 6) The football team ____having baths and then ____
coming back here for tea. 7) The class ____ (be) taking notes in
English Answer: 1) is 2) were /are3) has 4) are 5) is 6) are, are
7) are
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4. Problems of concord with expressions of quantity as subject
Quantitative expressions falls into two categories: definite and
indefinite. 1) Concord with expression of definite quantity as
subject 2) Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as
subject.
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1) Concord with expression of definite quantity as subject (1)
When a definite quantity is regarded as a whole unit, the verb
takes the singular form and when in the sense of the individual
that constitute the quantity, the verb takes the plural form. He
thought that 65 dollars was not too much to ask. There were 6
silver dollars in each of the stockings.
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(2) If the subject is a fraction/ percentage + of phrase, the
form of the verb is determined by the noun in the of phrase. A
plural noun in the of phrase requires a plural verb; a singular or
a mass noun in the of phrase is to be followed by a singular verb.
eg: Over 60% of the city was destroyed in the war. Two thirds of
land is covered with grass. 1) Concord with expression of definite
quantity as subject
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(3) If the subject is an expression of A+Bor AxB, the verb can
take the singular or the plural form. If, on the other hand, the
subject is one of A-B or AB, the verb can be singular. (4) one in
/out of +plural number, the verb takes the singular form. One in
ten students has failed the exam. 1) Concord with expression of
definite quantity as subject (3)
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2) Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as subject.
(1) When the subject is a noun phrase composed of all /some/ none/
half/most of phrase the number of verb is determined by the noun in
of phrase. Most of the cargo was lost. All of the crew were saved.
None of my friends ever come to see me. Half of the building was
damaged in the explosion.
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(2) few, few of; both, both of; several + noun as subject, the
verb form should be plural. Few towns have such splendid streets.
Few of my friends were present at the party. Both these books are
mine. Both of the books are good in quality 2) Concord with
expression of indefinite quantity as subject
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(3) Compound indefinite pronouns made by combination of some
(any, no, every) +body (one or thing) are treated as singular
--Nobody but Sam and John was in the lab. --Nothing but trees was
to be seen. --Everybody in the office ____ how to operate the
computer. A.know B. is know C. were known D. knows Answer: D 2)
Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as subject
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(4) When an indefinite pronoun such as all, most, half, enough,
some, the rest, the remainder etc. used as subject, the verb form
should be decided according to notional concord. If the subject is
in the sense of plural, the verb takes the plural form; if the
subject is in the sense of singular, the verb takes the singular
form. 2) Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as
subject.
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(5) When a great deal/amount/ quantity of +uncountable noun is
used as subject, the verb should be singular. --A great deal of
work awaits us. A large quantity of desert covers the land. --It is
said that a large amount of money ____ last night. A. were stolen
B. was stolen C has been stolen D. have been stolen Answer: B 2)
Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as subject
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(6) When the subject is a noun preceded by a portion of, a
series of, a pile of, a panel of the verb invariably takes the
singular form, whatever the form of the noun. A substantial portion
of the reports is missing. A series of accidents has been reported.
These sorts of machines are up to date. 2) Concord with expression
of indefinite quantity as subject
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Likewise, when the subject is a noun, preceded by a kind/ sort/
type of or this kind/ sort/ type of, the verb takes the singular
form. If kind/ sort/ type of is preceded by these/those and
followed by a plural noun, the verb should be plural. Compare:
--This type of car is old-fashioned. --Cars of that type are
old-fashioned.
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2) Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as subject
Exercise Fill in the blanks with proper form of the verb. (1)
Plenty of the sugar _____ (was, were) imported from Cuba. (2) There
_____( was, were ) heaps of fun. (3) There ____ (was, were) heaps
of books on the subject.
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(4) Although his many examples were all right, the remainder
___ not exact. is B. are C. was D. were (5) Enough of the data ____
been collected. A has B. have C. had D. having Answer: (1) was (2)
was (3) were (4) D (5)B