Transcript Subject-verb Concord

Lecture 2
Subject-verb Concord
Introduction:
•
Concord, also termed “agreement”, can be
defined as “the relationship between two
grammatical units such that one of them displays
a particular feature (e.g. plurality) that accords
with a displayed (or semantically implicit) feature
in the other. ” (Quirk et al., 1985:755)
•
Concord refers to the agreement relationship
between two grammatical units.
Subject-verb concord
The most important type of the concord
The number agreement between the
subject and the verb
1. Guiding principles
• Grammatical concord
• Notional concord
• proximity
Grammatical concord
The Verb must match its subject both in person
and number. Singular subjects take singular verbs,
and plural subjects take plural verbs.
e.g.
Each boy has his own book.
Two girls were standing on the corner.
Much effort is wasted.
Notional concord: agreement in meaning
The verb can sometimes agree with the
subject according to the notion of number
rather than to the actual presence of the
grammatical marker of that notion.
e.g.
Fifteen miles seems like a long walk to me.
The government have asked the country to
decide by a vote.
Proximity
The verb agree with a closely preceding noun
phrase in preference to with the head of the noun
phrase that functions as subject.
The verb should agree with the closer of the
two subjects.
e.g. Either you or I am responsible for the mistake.
No one except his own supporters agree with
him.
Brief summary of the three principles
•
The grammatical concord is the basic
principle, and generally applies to formal English.
The other two, on the other hand, play an
auxiliary role in informal English.
•
Usually grammatical concord and notional
concord coincide. Problems often arise when the
grammatical concord comes into the conflict with
the other two.
2. 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 governed by
usage.
2.1 Collective nouns used as plural
They include people, police, cattle, poultry,
vermin etc.
e.g.
The police are searching for the murderer.
Domestic cattle provide us with milk, beef and
hides.
Poultry are less expensive in rural areas.
2.2 Collective nouns used as Singular
They include foliage, machinery,
furniture, jewelry, merchandise, etc.
e.g.
All the machinery in that country is made in
China.
Jewelry is no longer a mark of wealth.
2.3 Collective nouns used either as
plural or as singular
They include army, audience, family, team,
committee, class, etc.
The choice of the verb form depends on
the exact meaning of the noun in a specific
context.
when the noun is used as a whole, the
verb takes the singular form. If the noun is
used as the individuals that make the
collective, the verb takes the plural form.
e.g.
The audience is requested to remain seated
during the intermission.
The audience are listening to a Beethoven
symphony.
The class are busy taking notes.
The class is a modal one.
p. 38, 2B
3. Problems of concord with nouns
ending in -s
The regular plural is formed by adding –s
or –es to the base.
Quite a few nouns ending in –s are
uncountable.
Some are treated as singular, some as
plural, and some either as singular or as
plural.
3.1 Disease and game names ending in –s
They are mostly treated as singular.
e.g. Mumps is a kind of infectious disease.
Generally, measles occurs in children.
3.2 Subject names ending in –ics
They are generally singular nouns, but some
are treated as plural when used in other senses.
e.g.Mathematics is the study of numbers.
His mathematics are not good.
3.3 Geographical names ending in –s
They are usually used as plural except a few country
names.
e.g. The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of
plant and animal life.
The West Indies are commonly divided into two parts.
The United States is a country of
people with varied origins.
The United Nations was founded in
1945.
3.4 other nouns ending in –s
Names for things made of two parts such as
scissors, glasses, trousers, shorts, etc. are used as
plural.
His trousers are torn.
Nouns usually taking plural endings such as
arms, clothes, contents, goods, etc. are used as
plurals.
High wages often result in high prices.
p.34, 2A
4. Problems of concord with a
coordinate subject
4.1 Coordination with “and” or “both… and”
It is usually treated as plural when it refers to
two or more persons/things, but as singular when
it refers to only one person or thing.
e.g.
Peter and Bob are deadly rivals.
Both John and his son have gone fishing.
The poet and musician visits our school today.
Ham and egg is a good breakfast.
Every boy and every girl was asked to complete
the form.
4.2 coordination with “or”/ “either… or”, “nor”/
“neither… nor”, “not only… but also”
It is generally dealt with according to the
principle of proximity.
e.g. Neither you nor your husband is responsible
for the mistake.
Not only the students but also their teacher has
participated in the game.
4.3 subject + as well as, in addition to,
together with, etc.
Subjects linked by as well as, etc, normally comply
with the principle of the grammatical concord.
e.g. The President, as well as his advisors, was aware of
the risk of the mission.
The head coach, together with his team, was overjoyed
when they won the NBA final.
P. 41, 3A
5. Expressions of quantity as subject
5.1 Definite quantity as subject
a. When it is regarded a single unit, the verb
takes a singular form.
Six months is too short a time.
A hundred dollars is a large sum of money to
a university student.
b. When it is used in the sense of the individuals, the
verb takes the plural form.
e.g. The first two years were quite successful.
There are six dollars in his pocket.
c. “a fraction/percentage + of-phrase” as
subject
The verb form is determined by the noun in
the of-phrase.
e.g.
Over 60% of the city was destroyed in the war.
Two-thirds of the students are willing to take
the test.
d. “one in/out of + plural noun” as subject
The verb takes the singular form in formal
style, but plural in informal style.
e.g.
One in ten students has / have failed the
exam.
5.2 Indefinite quantity as subject
a. “all of, some of, none of, half of + noun” as
subject
The verb is determined by the noun in
of-phrase.
e.g.
Some of the money has been stolen.
Half of the students are girls.
b. “a portion of, a series of, a pile of, or this
kind/sort/type of, + noun” as subject
The verb invariably takes the singular form.
e.g.
A substantial portion of the report is missing.
A series of accidents has been reported.
c. “many a/more than one + noun” as subject
This kind of noun phrase, though notionally
plural, is treated as singular.
e.g.
Many a man has done his duty.
More than one student has failed the exam.
P.46, 3B
6.Other problems
6.1 Nominal clauses as subject
Generally, the singular verb
e.g.
What caused the accident was a complete mystery.
What he did and what he said are totally different.
What she wanted from him were just promises.
6.2 Non-finite clauses as subject
The verb usually takes the singular form.
e.g. Playing tennis is a very good exercise.
To eat well is all he asks.
Singing and dancing are her favorite hobbies.
To eat to live and to live to eat constitute two
different attitudes towards life.
6.3 Concord in existential sentence
The verb agrees with the notional subject.
e.g.
There is a note left on the desk.
There are three routes you can take.
There is a sofa and two chairs in the room.
(principle of proximity)
6.4 concord in relative clauses
a. In the construction of “one of + plural
noun + relative clause”, the principle of
proximity is generally preferred.
e.g.
She is one of the girls who have trouble
making up their minds.
b. When one is premodified by the or the
only/very , the verb can only be singular.
.
e.g She is the only one of her family who has
trouble making up her mind.
P. 51, 3C
Exercises :
1. The committee ( has, have) agreed to the
proposal.
2. The suite of furniture he bought (was, were) of
contemporary design.
3. The statistics on traffic accidents in this city
(is, are) increasing
4. The New York Times (is, are) published daily.
.
5. War and peace (is, are) a constant theme in
history.
6. Thirty miles (seems, seem) a long walk to
me.
7. Many a boy (was, were) disappointed
after seeing the film.
8. There (is, are) more than one answer to
the question.
9. All of the fruit (looks, look) ripe.
10. The greater part of the valley (was, were)
flooded.
11. What they want (is, are) some financial aids.
12. She is the only one of these women who
never (cares, care) her look.
• 52. All the President's Men ________ one of the important books
for historians who study the Watergate Scandal. (2007)
• A. remain
• B. remains
• C. remained
• D. is remaining
• 62. The statistics ________ that living standards in the area have
improved drastically in recent times.(2006)
• A. proves
• B. is proving
• C. are proving
• D. prove
• 56. Because fuel supplies are finite and
many people are wasteful, we will have to
install ________ solar heating device in our
home.(2005)
• A. some type of
• B. some types of a
• C. some type of a
• D. some types of
• 51. Mr. Wells, together with all the members of his family,
________ for Europe this afternoon.(2004)
• A. are to leave
• B. are leaving
• C. is leaving
• D. leave
• 50. It is futile to discuss the matter further, because
________ going to agree upon anything today.(2003)
• A. neither you nor I are
• B. neither you nor me am
• C. neither you nor I am
• D. neither me nor you are
Thank you!