Questions tagged [verb-agreement]
Agreement between a verb and its subject for number and person.
1,076
questions
0
votes
0
answers
57
views
Is "ye" in the singular used with singular or plural verb conjugations?
I was writing some dialogue for a story and I wanted a character from the past to speak in an archaic/Early Modern English way, when I stumbled across this.
In this instance, I'm using "ye" ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
29
views
That X and Y “has” or “have” done Z?
I came across this sentence in a book.
That unique scale and perspective has informed all of his thinking on the care and feeding of software systems.
With the “that” at the beginning of the ...
- 101
0
votes
3
answers
123
views
The number of each type is chosen -- why does this take a singular verb, when more than one number is being chosen?
This question about how to choose a singular or plural verb for sentences with number as the subject has been asked a few times here. Nonetheless, will ask again for the following sentence:
The ...
- 134
3
votes
1
answer
66
views
Subject-verb agreement in questions using neither-nor constructions [duplicate]
I'm aware that in sentences using neither-nor constructions, the verb must agree with the subject closest to it. E.g.:
Neither the dog nor the cats have been fed.
Neither the cats nor the dog has ...
0
votes
1
answer
68
views
What are the correct choices in: [A 𝒐𝒓 the] [variety 𝒐𝒓 number] of [something 𝒐𝒓 some things] [is 𝒐𝒓 are]?
My English grammar teacher said that English has following rules:
A variety/number of something are...
The variety/number of something is...
We had the examples:
A number of my colleagues are from ...
2
votes
0
answers
64
views
Singular or plural verbs for "There has/have been a large number of studies investigating…" [duplicate]
I am writing a thesis in English. After finishing, I used two grammar-checking software programs to pick up grammar errors. However, confusing results for a sentence were given by the two applications....
- 21
0
votes
3
answers
104
views
Which is correct? "So why wasn't/weren't you good enough?" [closed]
Someone has just messaged me saying as a professional business owner I should know the difference and that my sentence is wrong! I am not sure! Especially as I am from Yorkshire and we all know we ...
- 19
0
votes
2
answers
94
views
Which of these sentences is correct and why? "My favorite food is/are hamburger(s)" [duplicate]
My favorite food is hamburgers.
My favorite food are hamburgers.
My favorite food is hamburger.
As a native speaker, I know instinctively that number 1 is correct but I'm finding it difficult to ...
- 11
4
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Is there anything wrong with the sentence "Donuts are not a part of healthy eating"?
The sentence in question is:
Donuts are not a part of healthy eating.
I'm debating between the following:
Nothing wrong
Donuts are not part of healthy eating (because "donuts" is plural, ...
- 57
1
vote
0
answers
41
views
Collective nouns - singular or plural in context? [duplicate]
It seems correct to write "A host of tools exists..." or "A range of tools exists...", i.e. the verb reflects the fact that you are referring to one collective noun.
But, if I want ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
38
views
Why do these two situations allow a noun to be singular and plural? [duplicate]
Examples:
"Two miles is too far to walk" vs "There are two miles"
In the first situation, the noun is seen as singular, while the noun is seen as plural in the second situation. ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
16
views
Verb and noun in plural [duplicate]
What do I call people who eat donuts?
donuts eaters
or
donut eaters
- 101
3
votes
1
answer
66
views
Verb usage "-s"
In a Euronews headline I saw the following:
Frontex: What would happen if the EU border agency quit Greece?.
Shouldn't it be "quits Greece"? As far as I understood EU border agency is ...
- 31
-1
votes
2
answers
93
views
"All that I see is lights" or "All that I see are lights" [duplicate]
I am in a heated debate over whether to use "is" or "are" in the following sentence:
"When I look into her eyes all I see is/are bright lights beaming energy through our path ...
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
Over a billion years (is/ are) required for a diamond to be formed. Should the verb be singular or plural in this case and why? [duplicate]
Does the subject (Over a billion years) function as a single unit of measurement here?
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
37
views
"Do" vs. "does" with both singular and plural subjects [duplicate]
I know multiple singular subjects have been addressed here and singular compound subjects here. However, I came across a sentence with multiple subjects, one single paired with one plural. I could not ...
- 138
0
votes
0
answers
21
views
Company name that is a plural noun, what's the correct verb agreement? [duplicate]
Imagine a company called Spicy Labs. A fictional company where you can go online and create and order custom spice mixes. On their website, which tagline would be correct:
"Spicy Labs lets you ...
- 399
0
votes
2
answers
70
views
Why do we keep using the conjugated form of the verb "to do" before other verbs? [duplicate]
This seriously has me perplexed. I feel examples would better explain my question:
"What did you eat?" vs "What ate you?" *
Where did you go? vs "Where went you"?
using ...
- 11
0
votes
2
answers
46
views
Which is (more?) correct: "Highly-variable" or "High-variability"
I have a question regarding a caption I'm writing for a photograph. For the sake of this example, the sentence has to communicate this device can read many different types of text.
So, which is more ...
- 9
1
vote
1
answer
97
views
Is "Being rich and being famous" singular or plural? [duplicate]
Being rich and famous certainly has/have some advantages.
Being rich and being famous certainly has/have some advantages.
Being enormous and being made of rare materials is/are why this throne is so ...
- 113
0
votes
1
answer
77
views
Why is there a subject-verb agreement exception with "rent" in "Hannah recommended that Sasha rent"? [duplicate]
My student wrote:
Hannah recommended that Sasha rents first before buying a house or an apartment because it is important to know the area.
I corrected him and said it should be:
Hannah recommended ...
0
votes
0
answers
19
views
What kind of reforms WERE or WAS made? Which one is correct? [duplicate]
What kind of reforms WAS/WERE made?
I usually know the subject-verb agreement. But someone asked me this, and I'm now questioning what I know about this. He said it should be "was" since ...
- 9
0
votes
2
answers
95
views
Whom you vote for "affects" or "affect", if there are multiple politicians elected? [closed]
I was going to say "Whom you vote for affects the economy" but I was not sure if it should be "affect" or "affects". I think semantically, the subject of "affect&...
- 263
0
votes
0
answers
54
views
Should phrases for amounts/quantities be singular or plural? [duplicate]
Here's a quote from the TV show Silicon Valley
Yeah, but that 10 minutes is just incredible.
I think I've also heard someone somewhere said something to the effect of "5 minutes is a long time.&...
- 5,391
2
votes
1
answer
127
views
Is a collection of years plural or singular?
For example: when referring to the Great Depression, which of these would be more correct?
That 10 years is known as the Great Depression.
Those 10 years are known as the Great Depression.
- 31
-1
votes
1
answer
119
views
Usage of they/them as a pronoun in confusing sentences [duplicate]
Pronouns are an integral part of the english language. However, they can also cause confusion and problems within communication, especially in the modern era, as some people choose to use ...
- 791
1
vote
4
answers
162
views
Should it have been "extend" in "But the lawmakers’ letter highlights how worries about data access by foreign adversaries extends…"?
Recently I've read an article from CNN. I'm confused with the following sentence:
But the lawmakers’ letter highlights how worries about data access by foreign adversaries extends beyond TikTok and ...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
65
views
When is it appropriate to break subject and verb agreement, conjugating the verb as singular when the subject is plural? [closed]
I have seen this phenomenon happen in several Youtube videos about aviation crashes in the channel Mentour Pilot. For instance, in this video (timestamp 18:26):
A hundred and one passengers and crew ...
- 123
1
vote
2
answers
55
views
two subjects connected by or \ subject verb agreement [duplicate]
Has \ have the horse or the cattle been found ?
OR replacing subjects as :
Has \ have the cattle or horse been found ?
Which verb is correct (has or have) to begin with ?
**My question is different ...
- 117
0
votes
1
answer
44
views
Singular vs plural verb form when using "[The / What / ...] kind of X ..."
I want to write a sentence similar to "The kind of cookies I like is chocolate ones, which includes Oreos."
Is this grammatically correct? My thinking is the subject ("kind of cookies&...
- 123
-1
votes
1
answer
128
views
Arise vs arises with singular subject and plural object
I've found a few similar questions here, but I'm still not sure in this specific case if there should be a preference for using the word arise or arises:
Originally proposed before BCS theory as a ...
- 125
0
votes
1
answer
35
views
Is a list always treated as a plural? [duplicate]
I was reading this web page https://www.mobility.siemens.com/global/en/portfolio/rail/rolling-stock/passenger-coaches.html
It says "From experience come speed, flexibility, and comfortable travel....
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
Compound Subject and Verb Agreement Following "of"
Given the following example sentence:
The secondary effect of ability X and ability Y has been reworked.
I'm not really sure what to make of the subject-verb agreement here.
In this case, is the ...
2
votes
2
answers
80
views
The toy was the best and built last year. Is a second "was" necessary to create "was built"?
Which of the below sentences is grammatically correct?
(A) The toy was the best and built last year.
(B) The toy was the best and was built last year.
I believe that sentence (B) is correct, but is ...
- 21
2
votes
2
answers
114
views
Subject verb agreement with who
I was writing a sentence and got to thinking about the verb here:
Let's see who [get / gets] this reference.
Who is the subject here but it might refer to more than one, or it might not!
- 201
0
votes
1
answer
337
views
'Help determine' vs 'help in determining'
I'm not a native English speaker and I'm having trouble understanding the usage of a preposition in the following example
These models can help regulate and determine pattern formation
These models ...
- 111
0
votes
2
answers
23
views
Refer To When Defining Plural Terms
I’m trying to figure out the reasoning for why “refers to” is always singular when using it to describe a term.
Is this not always the case? If not, please provide an example. If yes, is the word “the ...
0
votes
1
answer
66
views
Verb Form Following "Who" Preceded by Prepositional Phrase [duplicate]
Does the verb form after "who" attach to "one" or "friends"? Or can both possibilities be argued?
She gave the document to one of her friends who are trustworthy.
She ...
- 141
0
votes
0
answers
50
views
Subject-verb agreement for adjectival relative clause [duplicate]
Which of the following is correct?
The beaver is one of the few animals that changes its own environment.
Or
The beaver is one of the few animals that change their own environment.
- 21
0
votes
0
answers
32
views
Relative pronoun qualifies one or more pronouns?
In the sentence "I have a cat and dogs who are dumb", does "who are dumb" qualify only the dogs or does it qualify of the dogs and the cat? Or is it ambiguous?
Depending on the ...
- 109
1
vote
0
answers
130
views
Is the British use of a country name as a plural collective noun not limited to sports teams?
My question is addressed to those with excellent knowledge of British English.
This morning I read this sentence on the BBC website:
The last remaining families in the Donetsk region have been told ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
Should I use "is'' or "are'' in the sentence, "The next canonical choice IS the so-called slip boundary conditions...''? [duplicate]
Should I use "is" or "are" in this sentence?
The next canonical choice [is/are] the so-called slip boundary conditions...
I've struggled to find an answer for this question ...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
63
views
"Not just [he/him], but [she/her] is leaving this year"?
How do I correctly write sentences like these:
"Not just [he/him], but [she/her] is leaving this year"? I'm unsure whether to use an object or subject pronoun.
I've come to learn that in ...
- 109
4
votes
1
answer
138
views
Another tricky subject-verb agreement question (for me)
I was hoping someone could break down the following sentence that I have written into its subject, verb, and predicate parts:
This is why supporting demand-side policies is a less-risky proposition.
...
- 41
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
Difficulty in distinguishing whether a singular or plural verb agrees with a subject; one which includes "both" followed by a prepositional phrase
I have written the following sentence:
While I think the Austrian School's fixation both on natural prices and the rate of interest were akin to jousting at windmills...
First, am I correct in ...
- 41
1
vote
0
answers
53
views
"Of all the students, none [is/are] as attentive as he is"? "she asks all 5 of them, none [knows/know] the answer"? [duplicate]
In the sentence "I asked all 5 of them, none [knows/know] the answer", should I use the plural or singular verb?
For reference, I found this website that explains it: https://editorsmanual....
- 109
7
votes
1
answer
8k
views
When is "more than one" singular or plural?
I always learnt that "more than one" takes a singular verb because it is followed by a singular noun as in: more than one child has bad grades.
But what happens when it is followed by a ...
- 109
1
vote
2
answers
76
views
Why "am" is used in the sentence "It is useless to me who ___ ill"? [duplicate]
(First let me clearly mention that I am from a non–English-speaking
country, so I may be wrong with my question.)
My brother encountered a question on his English test:
It is useless to me who ___ ...
- 27
-1
votes
1
answer
28
views
Which is correct? Suggest me the best out of it [closed]
I wish no human will ever get trapped like this.
I wish no human ever get trapped like this.
I wish no human ever gets trapped like this.
1
vote
1
answer
42
views
Is there an easy way to identify the subject in a relative clause? [closed]
I am having a problem deciding whether to use "is" or "are" here, as I do not really know what the subject is... I feel that the sentence is OK as is but my Word grammar checker ...
- 51