Questions tagged [agreement]
For questions about how words change depending on other words in a sentence. Also called concord.
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It was... at the market conference [migrated]
It was ____ at the market conference.
A. Her
B. Him
C. Them
D. She
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's ending in English simple present tense
I was wondering whether someone would be able to explain the origin of the -s form as used to bind a predicate with a third person subject (he,she,it) to express a "simple " present ...
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agreement of the subject complement with the subject
A colleague of mine asked me, "Can we say 'My favorite food is hamburgers.'"
I said of course it is correct. But she said a native speaker says it is wrong. It should be "My favorite ...
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agreement in parallel structure
Consider this sentence:
When I am working at the computer, where do I end and the computer begin?
The question is a parallel structure. If we unpack it, it would be
Where do I end, and where does ...
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"One another" when an ordered series of events or stages is involved
According to a traditional rule, each other denotes a reciprocal
relation between two entities, and one another refers to more than
two.
Many people maintain a further stylistic distinction between ...
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Grammatical concord requires that the possessive pronoun following "which of us" be in the singular
Page 458 of Fowler's Concise Dictionary of Modern English Usage reads
Which of us would wish to be ill in his or her kitchen, especially when it is
also the family living room?
Grammatical concord ...
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Which is correct: "What lurks underneath ARE our lives," or "What lurks underneath IS our lives"? [duplicate]
I admit, the fact I can't figure this out is embarrassing. I'm not looking to change the wording of the sentence, but rather want an answer to which is the correct verb tense in this exact instance. ...
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Singular or plural verb form with 'What Ø the cause, progress and result of your actions?' [duplicate]
What is the cause, progress and result of your actions?
Which verb should be used here, is or are?
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Cashews are excellent sources of magnesium?
A mistake I've heard many English learners use happens to be really hard to explain, so I'll give some examples:
Scissors are major causes of blindness among irresponsible children instead of "...
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2
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"more activity" why singular?
I came across this sentence while reading an article:
"The massive, untracked streams of cash it creates can fuel more illegal activity, including terrorism."
It seems weird to me that the ...
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any of this or these?
Can you help me correct this sentence? "Whether it's a cup of coffee or tea, our cake goes well with any of THIS or THESE? " this seems a little confusing since ANY is usually used in plural ...
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"It is two teachers' birthday today" or "It is two teachers' birthdays today"?
Apparently I've been involved in a debate in the Duolingo forums for about a year on whether when two possessors in a possessive construction possess the same shared/common object, whether the object ...
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Using "between" to introduce a set of traits or circumstances
I was wondering if this construction using "between" to introduce a set of traits/circumstances was correct. (I'm also interested in alternative phrases that may be more appropriate):
...
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Is the Usage "I are" proper English? [closed]
So I'm reading a 19th-century novel called The Count of Monte Cristo, and I came across this particular usage, which is:
[H]e continued," let us make all possible speed. I are most anxious to ...
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The difference between 'I don't know nothing else' and 'I know nothing else' [duplicate]
What is the difference between the following?
I don't know nothing else
and
I know nothing else
There's a don't in the first sentence, however both sentences translated the same in google ...
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"Systems those were" or "systems that were"?
Please, someone, help me to understand why is this first sentence incorrect?
Incorrect: And it has affected the most to the systems those were already fragile.
Correct: And it has affected the most ...
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Which sentence is correct and why: agreement?
Please tell me which is correct and why:
My favorite thing to smell is flowers.
Or
My favorite things to smell are flowers.
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When the verb precedes the noun "percentage", a singular verb is required
According to Garner's fourth edition
When the verb precedes the noun percentage, a singular verb is required. That is,
a higher percentage of them are, but there is a higher percentage of
them
I'd ...
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Subject verb agreement question regarding "seem/seems" [duplicate]
Sentence: "Two weeks seems to be the virus's maximum incubation period."
What is the subject of the sentence? I can't figure out if it's the virus or the incubation period. Also, generally, when you ...
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Would it be correct to say "thank you to everyone"?
Would it be correct to say "Thank you to everyone"? It seems like there would be two direct objects to the verb "thank".
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"Choosing appropriate architectures" - singular or plural agreement?
Choosing appropriate architectures {are} crucial
or
Choosing appropriate architectures {is} crucial
To my knowledge [choosing something] is a single action, it should be followed by [is]. Please ...
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When a sentence starts with "No" and has multiple subjects, which subject does the verb agree with? [duplicate]
Should it be "No juice and coffee are served," or "No juice and coffee is served?"
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1
answer
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Is or Are subject verb agreement
I have a question in subject verb agreement. Which one below is correct
Lazy riding, fast walking and long jumping are just the way of who they are.
Lazy riding, fast walking and long jumping is ...
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Usage of "all" in a sentence [closed]
"All the apples in the basket are good"
vs
"All the apple is good" [meaning the whole apple is good?].
Are both usages correct?
If yes please explain why. From here it seems both the usages ...
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Verb tense agreement - 'Do' vs. 'did'
I want to say something like, 'Would many women, if asked, say they feel unsatisfied with the way they are treated? They would say that they /do/.'
A friend advised me to change 'do' to 'did'. But I'...
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I don't like it too [duplicate]
I know that the sentence "I don't like it, either" is correct.
I've come across some native speakers say, "I don't like it,too." What about this variant?
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There (was/were) once or twice that I failed my maths [closed]
Doing revision and homework (is/are) good for students.
There (was/were) once or twice that I failed my maths.
Which verb in the parentheses is correct?
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What is the question tag for sentences whose subjects are "none...is" and "each...is"? [duplicate]
I know that indefinite pronouns like none and each take singular verbs, but what about their question tags?
None of the boys has passed the test, ________?
Each of the girls was given a prize, ...
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What's the correct verb to be used? [closed]
would I say: Having a suitable Tone, Pace and Volume is or are integral to ensuring excellent quality over the phone.
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answer
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"Log hours against a task"
To give a little bit of context, I work on an software development company and we use a project management tool in which we raise tasks (we call them jiras, actually, but nevermind that) that ...
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1
answer
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Concord with gender-neutral "they" [duplicate]
I was wondering what the general take is on concord with they as a gender-neutral 3rd person singular pronoun. I assume there are no hard and fast rules here yet, seeing that this is a fairly new ...
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Which one is correct? Watching soccer games make/makes me happy
"Watching soccer games" is the subject but the teacher argues that it is the word"watching"
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This data are treated anonymously
I saw this sentence on a web service. But I think this sentence is wrong.
"This data are treated anonymously."
I think it should be either of these.
"This data is treated anonymously."
"These data ...
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2
answers
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Verb agreement with two gerunds as subject
I would like to know which of the following sentences is correct:
Translating and adapting texts for different audiences composes the key of this theory
Translating and adapting texts for different ...
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Is there any such thing as noun pronoun proximity?
I have read of Concord (or noun-verb agreement) and was wondering if, is as I have been told, there is a similar grammar rule for noun-pronoun agreement/proximity.
When there's a sentence where two ...
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Knew, realized + the past/present
Please consider the following:
I knew the building (IS/WAS) thirty feet tall.
They realized I (AM/WAS) his son.
My question: both those clauses contain general truths. So, do I need to use ...
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Why "they", and not "it", is used here? [closed]
It seems to me that the author should have used a singular pronoun here:
Bakunin: Universal suffrage by the whole people of
representatives and rulers of the state — this is the last
word of ...
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Can you say “what was —- a reaction to?”
If I mean to ask the main causes of something, so I want to know what something reacted to, can I say “what was the war a reaction to?”? It sounds pretty weird to me... I’d rather say “what did the ...
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1-1 correspondence
This case really bothers me while I am speaking. Here is the situation: I have a group of four students. Each has the textbook named "Gandhi Readers". So, there are four textbooks, yet there is only ...
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most of that or most of them or most of it
I happened to read the following sentence in ‘Poached’ by Stuart Gibbs, which deals with coalas.
They(Coalas) rest sixteen to eighteen hours a day and spend most of that unconscious.
But I wonder ...
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was vs were in "The teachers discussed Jim, one of whose problems was poor study habits" [closed]
In the sentence below:
The teachers discussed Jim, one of whose problems was poor study habits.
Why was is used in the adjective clauses?
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Function of fractions in NPs + form of subsequent verb
I have two questions about the clause two thirds of the book deals with WWII:
i) how do we analyse the subject of this clause from a syntactic point of view? I'd analyse it as a NP, with the ...
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Usage singular vs plural for "in their hands" and "on their face"
Considering that Sam and his brother are waiting together for a movie to start, and each of them has a sugar candy in their hand, and each of them smiles… what will be the most grammatically correct ...
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singular noun-verb agreement with superlative adjective
Is the noun-verb following sentence correct?:
"Most metaphysics has been determined by it."
I thought that with the superlative adjective 'most', the subject is made plural; but can it also be ...
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Nouns following the verb "turn"
I am wondering why we use a singilar noun in the following construction:
-The two brothers turned "terrorist".
Is there any explanation for using the singular form?
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"What Seem" vs "What Seems" with plural
I have prayed what seem like the same prayers for so long.
OR
I have prayed what seems like the same prayers for so long.
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Why do my legs (plural) ache (singular) but my back (singular) aches (plural) [closed]
I couldn't think how to word the title without writing my whole question, I am a native English speaker so while I understand saying "my legs aches" is wrong and sounds weird, I have no idea why. Same ...
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Which to be verb do you use when listing items?
I'm confused about what "to be verb" to use when you create a list of items.
I mean when you talk about 3 or 4 items. What "to be verb" goes after "how much"? I read that "how much" always goes with ...
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a large amount of the population speaks/speak? [duplicate]
Can you say "a large amount of the population" or should it be "a large number of the population?
And if you CAN say "a large amount of the population" is this amount considered singular or plural?
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'Do/Don't' in 3rd person singular [duplicate]
A lot of song lyrics include phrases where "do/don't" is used instead of "does/doesn't" with subjects in 3rd person singular.
We are taught that is incorrect grammar. But, given how widespread that ...
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