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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