Questions about determining the subject of a sentence or clause
1
vote
2answers
68 views
“Either A or B”: what exactly is the subject?
My brother had this pair of questions on a Year 7 English exam.
Consider this sentence:
"Either Michael or Susan will have to do night shift tonight."
Which is the subject?
...
1
vote
3answers
40 views
Subject and Object in Commands?
I'm having difficulty figuring out the subject and object in the following sentence:
Give me that pencil.
The confusion is since someone is requesting the pencil, should they be the subject? In ...
1
vote
0answers
21 views
all we have are or is each other [duplicate]
I heard this phrase in the official call of duty ghosts reveal trailer:
All we have is each other
A quick Google search also reveals about a hundred thousand occurrences, but it sounds really ...
2
votes
3answers
72 views
If I want to talk about a person, but not one in specific, should I use: “Subject”, “One” or “Persons”?
I'd like to use a noun to mention a person, but not a specific one, like generalising.
Should I say it like this?
It allows the subject to speak for themselves.
Or like this?
It allows ...
2
votes
2answers
30 views
Proper use of “prescience” & “prescient” with implicit subject
If I am sending an email with the subject line:
Look at how spot on the Economist was with the Real Estate Bubble
In the body of the email, I quote 2 paragraphs from the article and write a ...
-2
votes
2answers
69 views
Plural possessive with compound subject [duplicate]
Is it "John and Becky's knowledge" or "John's and Becky's knowledge"?
0
votes
3answers
75 views
Does a student own, hold, possess, or something else a transcript? [closed]
Does a student hold, own, possess, or something else a transcript?
My wife just asked me a question for which I do not have an answer. She asked me, "holder or owner of a transcript?" I wasn't sure ...
1
vote
0answers
17 views
Is “Joe’s and my bicycles” correct? [duplicate]
Is this phrasing correct and acceptable?
Here are Joe’s and my bicycles
I am describing two bicycles, one owned by Joe and one owned by myself.
10
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is there omission of subject in sentences like “Thought you'd never ask.”
Another example is "Hope this helps."
"Thought you'd never ask." is the omission of "I thought you'd never ask."
"Hope this helps." is the omission of "I hope this helps."
In English grammar, ...
-3
votes
1answer
140 views
Usage of “I am afraid” [closed]
What kind of sentence should follow the phrase "I am afraid", assertive or interogative?
For example, is the following sentence grammatical?
I am afraid is it appropriate ask me a copy of it.
2
votes
2answers
100 views
On the structure of “search for weapons and bands of pro-Hussein fighters still holding out”
I came across the following expression:
The primary task of many American troops in Baghdad has been to search for weapons and bands of pro-Hussein fighters still holding out.
This is from a ...
-4
votes
1answer
77 views
How to reverse sentence so that their subjects and verbs agree? [closed]
How do you reverse the following sentence so that the subject agree with their verb............?
The president as well as his assistant have declined every comment.
The government’s reason ...
3
votes
5answers
1k views
Is it acceptable to begin a declarative sentence with “Am”?
I want to know firstly if it's grammatically correct to start a declarative sentence with "Am". For example:
Am excited about the game today.
Secondly, if it is grammatically incorrect, then I ...
-1
votes
2answers
147 views
English teacher's question about subject of a sentence
My students and I have a disagreement about the subject of the following sentence:
"Many animals were found on the farm."
I say it's "Many"; they say it's "animals." Who's right?
6
votes
3answers
4k views
“like I” or “like me”?
In high school we learned to say "than I" and "as I" because you could potentially add an "am" to the end of the sentence. Examples:
"She is smarter than I." (Think: "...than I am.")
"He is as tall ...
-1
votes
1answer
84 views
Internet Debate Grammar Challenge! [closed]
"The case was reopened about a fortnight after it was dropped(,) by a chief prosecutor. Who had gone on record, saying there's no reason to suspect he'd committed rape."
Taken from an internet ...
2
votes
1answer
96 views
When should the subject agree with the object of the preposition?
Quite often while I'm looking through research articles, I see sentences that start like this one:
The tensile strengths of the composites changed...
I generally change strengths to strength in ...
10
votes
7answers
7k views
Which is correct: “If it were I” or “If it were me”?
I'm fairly sure it's the former, but it sounds even more stilted than the usual cases in which "I" is less common, but more correct.
0
votes
1answer
132 views
“Hope” versus “I hope” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why is there omission of subject in sentences like “Thought you'd never ask.”
Is it correct to use hope without subject? I have seen may times something ...
1
vote
3answers
263 views
Is it grammatical to omit the subject from “I did my work”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it acceptable to begin a declarative sentence with “Am”?
Is it correct to start a sentence with did.
Did my work.
instead of
I did my work.
...
0
votes
1answer
200 views
Can a subordinate clause split subject and verb in the main clause?
E.g. are these correct?
Following the rules, even if it's difficult, is essential.
Following the rules, although it's difficult, is essential.
3
votes
2answers
657 views
Are you comfortable with who(m) he is?
Are you comfortable with him? (correct)
Are you comfortable with whom he is? (??)
You're comfortable with whom he is. (??)
Are you comfortable with who he is? (??)
You're comfortable ...
-2
votes
2answers
58 views
“Stuff happen” or “stuff happens”? [closed]
Is it “bad stuff happens to good people” or “bad stuff happen to good people”?
-2
votes
2answers
385 views
Subject-auxiliary inversions not associated with questions [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Inversion in “only [adverb] have they”
Is there some rule governing the following, or similar, subject-auxiliary inversions (*"Rarely they do see the light of day", ...
-2
votes
2answers
88 views
“Pitcher” or “Pitchee” when referring to oneself in a submission form
I'm pitching a story to a public broadcaster and the layout asks that I put my name on the top of the form. Am I the "Pitcher" or the "Pitchee", or should I just go with "Name"? "Name" seems too vague ...
6
votes
2answers
103 views
Different subjects for the word “drive”
She drives well on a highway.
This sentence makes sense to me, but so does the next one:
This car drives well on a highway.
I'm not sure why. The car can't drive on its own but second ...
0
votes
1answer
232 views
Are the subject and complement inverted in “Perched atop a high mountain on the other side […] was a vast castle”?
In this example, are the subject and complement inverted, or could it be possible to understand that ‘The thing’ or something of the subject of verb ‘was’ is dropped?
Perched atop a high mountain ...
-1
votes
2answers
233 views
Identify the subject, object and verb
In the sentence below I want to confirm whether I have correctly identified the subject, object and the verb (It's a sentence I made up as an example and hope it's correct, and if not please correct ...
1
vote
3answers
102 views
Who is pleased?
In the sentence, who is pleased, Malfoy or Crabbe and Goyle?
Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.
1
vote
1answer
686 views
“As is customary” vs. “as it is customary”
I more often see the first version being used, but to me, that doesn't sound right because I can't see the subject there. I would definitely use the second one.
What am I missing here?
Update: ...
1
vote
2answers
108 views
What’s the subject and verb?
During these sessions, the court could rule on major issues, this time around that includes the case about whether race should be a factor when colleges decide which students to accept.
For ‘this ...
0
votes
1answer
76 views
What’s the subject? [closed]
What’s the subject for the verb suppose?
Now, yer mum an’ dad were as good a witch an’ wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an’ girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst’ry is why You-Know-Who ...
1
vote
1answer
135 views
Subject–verb agreement: “are” versus “is” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Singular or plural following a list
My apples and orange are wrong
What is correct?
Her ripples, her current, her momentum is the fountainhead of science.
Her ...
3
votes
3answers
200 views
S-V agreement: It is not clear what is/are meant by A and B
In the following sentence, the verb “are” strikes me as odd.
In paragraph 6, it is not clear what are meant by “the front unit” and “the central element”.
It seems that “. . . it is not clear ...
7
votes
3answers
683 views
“A guy whose job is to” vs “a guy whose job it is to”?
I've been hearing the phrase "whose job it is to" quite often lately. Consider these two sentences:
We have a guy whose job is to clean windows.
We have a guy whose job it is to clean ...
4
votes
1answer
156 views
Is it acceptable to omit “I” when it's the subject? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it acceptable to begin a declarative sentence with “Am”?
Is it correct English to omit I from the beginning of a sentence when it's clearly implied?
For example...
...
2
votes
2answers
362 views
Subject and object while using passive voice [closed]
My English teacher and an overwhelming majority of my English class insists that in the following sentences the bolded words are subjects and the italicized words are objects.
I ate the cake.
...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
“There always come/comes a point”
Which is correct?
There always come a point...
There always comes a point...
Would there be better ways to write this?
4
votes
2answers
235 views
What is the simple subject in “Is that my bike”?
Is that my bike?
I'm not sure if the simple subject is that or bike.
-1
votes
3answers
96 views
subject and verb in “The average bundle price paid”?
I found this sentence really confusing:
The average bundle price paid was a little over $8.
So, the average is the subject. Paid is the verb. What about the bundle price?
Can we use this form ...
3
votes
4answers
761 views
Figuring the SVO of the sentence “I'm Tom.”
I was under the impression that every sentence has a subject–verb–object (SVO) where S and V are compulsory and O is optional.
So basically I was wondering in the sentence "I'm Tom." is the subject ...
4
votes
2answers
315 views
Does modifying a collective noun with a number make the subject plural?
The word dozen is a collective noun, i.e., singular when we think of them as groups and plural when we think of the individuals acting within the whole. So we might say:
Talking about eggs: "A ...
2
votes
5answers
2k views
What is the grammatical difference behind “is interesting” and “is interested”?
I am a native English speaker, yet I cannot explain to a non-native speaker why I say:
I am interested in history.
as well as
History is interesting to me.
Why is it "is interesting" when ...
0
votes
2answers
69 views
What are the subjects of these questions? [closed]
1.Do you think I did well in my Spanish examination?
2.Who won the music festival?
4
votes
7answers
503 views
What is the subject of the following sentence?
Food allergies are adverse reactions to an otherwise harmless food or food component that involves an abnormal response of the body's immune system to specific protein(s) in foods.
This is a ...
5
votes
1answer
145 views
Object vs Subject?
Consider the following sentence:
"Even during the simple occurrence of him and me standing next to each other makes me notice that he's taller than me."
Is him and me correct? Should it be he ...
3
votes
4answers
981 views
What's the best way to find the subject in a sentence?
What's the best way to find the subject in a sentence?
How do you define a subject?
I am especially curious about such cases, in which the subject seems to be represented by more than one word:
The ...
3
votes
1answer
660 views
Is “things such as this” singular or plural?
Which of the following is correct?
Things such as this make me happy.
Things such as this makes me happy.
Is the subject "things" or "this"?
1
vote
2answers
353 views
“A lot of people, especially this one psychoanalyst […], keeps asking”
In the last chapter of The Catcher in The Rye:
A lot of people, especially this one psychoanalyst guy they have here,
keeps asking me if I'm going apply myself when I go back to school
next ...
1
vote
1answer
226 views
Is it “me” or “I” and why? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When do I use “I” instead of “me?”
John, Valencia, and I (or me)?
I found a photo of Sarah, Thomas, James and I?
OR
I found a photo of ...
