I would love for you to study these notes so we can focus on other writing details.
... We cannot add a number to the front of a noncount noun. We also.
REVIEWER 1 CLASSES OF NOUN–VERB AGREEMENT Hi, Petron family! Here is Reviewer 1 of Grammar Basics—just a bit of a refresher before we plunge into improving our editing skills on July 18 and 19. I would love for you to study these notes so we can focus on other writing details. More notes to come in the next few days. Enjoy!
These are some classes of noun/verb agreement that we need to perfect. 1. Binary nouns are always plural. A binary noun refers to an object that consists of two parts joined together. Examples: scissors, tongs, tweezers, pliers, suspenders, eyeglasses, pants, shorts, pajamas 2. Collective nouns collect many things and make them one unit. A collective noun can be singular or plural. Singular Congress group class band flock corps gang department association family
Plural --groups classes bands flocks corps gangs departments associations families
Singular collective nouns are, of course, singular. For instance, say: The family is happy to see you. The Senate keeps talking about the same issue for days. The band is tired. The bank is closed. The department stands behind your decision. The company is failing. The flock of birds is flying east. [NOTE: Of birds is a prepositional phrase, not the subject] In very few instances, however, a collective noun in its singular form takes a plural verb (whew!) when keeping the collective singular is awkward. For instance: The family are arguing about the issue. Of course, most careful (and finicky!) users would rather say, “The family members are arguing about the issue”—in this case, the noun becomes members and not family. Here’s another example: Sharon’s basketball team is playing at the semifinals. (= the team as a whole) Sharon’s soccer team all have the flu. (= the individual team members)
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3. Noncount nouns cannot be counted. We cannot add a number to the front of a noncount noun. We also cannot add an s to the end of a noncount noun. Example: Rice is good for your digestion. (We cannot put a number before rice and say 3 rice— yikes! And we cannot add an s to rice and say lots of rices—ouch!) Also, we use less and much with noncount nouns because less and much refer to volume, degree or intensity—perfect for nouns that cannot be counted. Example: Shiela has less work today. Too much anger is bad for the soul. Less talk, please. He ate too much bacon. Please don’t flood me with too much paperwork. Some noncount nouns
Check out: http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/nouns/noncount.htm
documentation correspondence input feedback stuff advice signage luggage equipment applause photography traffic paperwork homework news jewelry
machinery food lumber clothing garbage mail wood water milk sugar harm publicity rice flour ice steel
aluminum leather porcelain hair dust air oxygen reading (gerunds) smoking dancing soccer (sports) heat sunshine electricity biology history
economics poetry Chinese Spanish merchandise laughter anger leisure wealth peace importance blood beef bacon mathematics furniture
4. Aggregate nouns are single collections made up of individual parts. However, unlike collective nouns, aggregate nouns usually use plural verb forms and have no singular forms. They cannot be used with a or an. Example: With the development of the Internet, communications are being revolutionized at a dizzying speed. Many aggregate nouns have plural forms, but many also are not plural in form, though they use plural verb forms. Example: The police are still looking for the Olympic Park bomber. Some aggregate nouns can use either singular or plural verb forms. Example: The data [is/are] inconclusive on that point. Check out: http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/nouns/plural.htm
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communications contents accommodations congratulations clergy data – can be singular or plural police goods archives
means stairs offspring media people outskirts earnings remains vermin thanks
troops intelligentsia barracks, headquarters majority – can be singular or plural kin amends cattle, poultry arms series – can be singular or plural crossroads
5. Gerunds and infinitive phrases are singular. Gerund is a verb with an –ing and is used as a noun. Examples: Smoking is bad. Determining the sour water quality is important. Building a good marriage and a good career is quite a challenge for a working mother. An infinitive uses to + base verb. When used as a noun, it is singular. To understand tenses is Joel’s biggest desire. If two gerunds (or infinitive phrases) are joined by the conjunction and, and these gerunds (or infinitive phrases) are different from each other, then we use the plural verb. Example: Fixing the faucet and organizing my closet are difficult to do on a rainy day. Learning a language and learning a sport require different skills. 6. Adjectives used as nouns are plural. The rich get richer. Blessed are the weak for they shall inherit the earth. 7. Indefinite pronouns use either singular or plural verbs These indefinite pronouns are singular except none (which is mostly singular but very rarely plural). Each Every Everyone Everybody Everything
Someone Somebody Something
Anyone Anybody anything
None – mostly singular No one Not one Nobody Nothing
Examples: Each man, woman and child was rescued by the Petron firefighting team. No one in his right mind wants to go home. Anyone who can repair the DVD player is welcome. Someone has left her plate on the table. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. The indefinite pronouns some, all, a lot express quantity. They can be singular or plural, depending on whether the noun that follows it is noncount or count. If the noun that follows is noncount, then the verb is singular. If the noun that follows is count, then the verb is singular. 3
Count nouns Some engineers are missing. There are a lot of papers on your table. All of the stars are shining brightly tonight. Noncount nouns Some of the equipment is dilapidated. All of my love for my friend is gone. A lot of the news tonight is bad news. Some of her luggage looks new. The indefinite pronoun none can be singular or plural depending on the context: • None of the jewels are missing. (NOTE: None of the components of the whole entity (i.e., jewels) are missing.) • None of the jewelry is missing. (NOTE: Not one part of the whole entity jewelry is missing.) 8. Prepositional phrases, such as the following, do not affect the subject: • • • •
Along with Together with As well as In addition to
• •
Except Along with
The choirmaster, together with the choir, is here. The choirmaster, in addition to the choir, is here The choirmaster, along with the choir, is here. The choirmaster, as well as the choir, is here. In the foregoing sentences, the subject is choirmaster. The prepositional phrases are merely descriptive. If, however, we use the conjunction and, then there result two subjects: The choirmaster and the choir are here. 9. Either/Or and Neither/Nor constructions can be singular or plural If the subject is either or neither, then the verb is singular. Do not be distracted by the prepositional phrase that starts with of. Either of the attendees is allowed to dine at the new restaurant Neither of my colleagues is available to give you an orientation. If either or neither operates as a marker, the verb will follow the subject nearest to it. Either Ken or my other colleagues are suited to the task. Either my other colleagues or Ken is suited to the task.
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10. The verb of two or more subjects joined by an or follows the nearest subject. My uncle or my aunt is arriving today. These dogs or that cat has to go. 11. Positive and Negative Subjects in Combination If a subject has a positive sentiment and a negative sentiment, the verb should correspond with the positive element: The delivery of the speech, not its contents, is the issue. The contents of the speech, not the delivery, are the issue. Our other option is to rearrange the first sentence so that the singular noun is near the verb: It is not the contents of the speech, but its delivery, that is at issue. [NOTE: Notice, however, that rearranging the sentence somehow changes the nuances of the sentence.] 12. An expletive is a construction that begins with here, there, or it, followed by the to be verb (is, are, was, were, etc.), and then by the actual subject of the sentence. The expletive delays the actual subject of the sentence. In sentences beginning with such expletives, the actual subject (which follows the verb) determines the verb form: There is a word for that. Here are several choices. Here lie the soldiers and sailors of the last war. Just remember that it is the subject of the sentence—not the expletive—that does the action of the verb. The same rule applies to what—it follows the number of the actual subject. Examples: What is needed is love. What are needed are new supplies. What we are interested in are new rice varieties. What is your name? What are your talents? 13. Fractional or percentage phrases may, depending on the context, be singular or plural. Their verb depends on the object of the preposition phrase starting with of—this object is the noun reference of the fraction or percentage. If such object/noun is singular, then the verb is singular; if plural, then the verb is plural. A small percentage of the employees are opposed. A large percentage of the cargo was damaged. Three-fourths of the land is forested. One-third of the trees are oaks. Fifty percent of the employees are attending the conference. One-half of the population is healthy. 5
14. Other phrases referring to quantity such as: a large amount of, a great deal of, a (large) number of, the number of can be singular or plural. A large amount of and a great deal of are generally used with uncountable nouns. A number of is used before a plural noun and requires a plural verb. The number of is followed by a plural noun and requires a singular verb because of the use of the determiner the. Examples: I've thrown out a large amount of old clothing that need mending. A great deal of patience is needed to solve this problem. A number of problems still have to be solved. A number of people come to the festival every year. The number of people who eat liver pate is actually quite small. (NOTE: Here, the subject is number.) 15. Numbers that forms part of a mathematical operation require a plural verb, but the outcome of a computation is expressed as a single entity: Ten and six are added together to equal sixteen. Ten minus six is four. 16. Distance, money and time use singular verbs. All the money in the world isn’t going to help Jason. Fifty pesos is all I have Five years is the maximum sentence for petty theft. Two kilometers away doesn’t sound too far.
Addendum. Here is a lovely site that also talks of noun-clauses agreement: http://faculty.washington.edu/marynell/grammar/ agreement.html More at http://www.towson.edu/ows/sub-verb.htm and http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm
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