Exercise 6.16 Sentences and clauses (cf. Chapter 6)
7.1 The general rules
The verb agrees with its subject in number and person. The agreement applies whenever the verb displays distinctions in person and number. For all verbs other than be, the distinctions are found only in the present tense, where the third person singular has the -s form and the third person plural – like the first and second persons – has the base form:
[1] The noise distracts them.
[2] The noises distract them.
The verb be makes further distinctions in the present and introduces distinc- tions in the past. These are as follows:
present tense singular plural
1st person am
2nd person are are
3rd person is
past tense singular plural
1st person was
2nd person were were
3rd person was
The distinctions for third person agreement with be are illustrated in [3] and [4]
for the present and in [5] and [6] for the past:
[3] The noise is distracting them.
[4] The noises are distracting them.
[5] The noise was distracting them.
[6] The noises were distracting them.
The agreement affects the first verb in the verb phrase, whether it is a main verb as in [1]–[2] or an auxiliary as in [3]–[6]. Modal auxiliaries (cf. 5.31), however, do not make distinctions in number or person:
The noise #
may distract them.
The noises $
If the subject is a noun phrase, the main noun determines the number of the phrase:
The noise of the ! demonstration #
is distracting them.
@ demonstrators $ The noises of the! demonstration #
are distracting them.
@ demonstrators$
It is a mistake to allow the verb to be influenced by an adjacent noun that is not the main noun.
Noun phrases coordinated with and are generally plural, even though the indi- vidual noun phrases are singular:
The President and the Vice-President were at the ceremony.
Clauses are generally singular:
Playing handball relaxes me.
To make mistakes is only human.
That he needs a shave is obvious.
The rule of number agreement between subject (S) and verb applies to all finite clauses, whether they are main clauses or subordinate clauses:
Inflation (S) is decreasing, and productivity (S) is rising.
Nature (S) has arranged that no two flowers (S) are the same, even though they (S) appear very similar.
7.2 And
The subject is plural if it consists of two or more phrases that are linked by and, even if each is singular:
Your kitchen, your living-room, and your dining-room are too small.
The subject is also plural if and is implied though not actually present:
Your kitchen, your living-room, your dining-room, are too small.
It is plural when one of the main nouns is implied though not actually present:
British and American English are dialects of one language. (British English and American English are . . . )
Both the first and the second prize were won by students at our school.
(Both the first prize and the second prize were . . . )
On the other hand, if the linked units refer to the same thing, the subject is singular:
The first serious poem I read in grade school and one I later studied in high school was ‘Ozymandias’ by Shelley. (The first serious poem was identical with the one later studied.)
A conscientious and honest politician has nothing to fear. (A politician who is both conscientious and honest has . . . )
In some instances, two linked units may be viewed as either a combination (and therefore singular) or as separate units (and therefore plural):
Bread and butter is good for you. (Bread with butter on it is . . . ) Bread and butter have recently gone up in price. (Both bread and butter
have . . . )
If the noun phrases are introduced by each or every, the subject is singular:
Every student and every instructor has to show an ID card to borrow books from the library.
Each adult and each child was given a sandwich.
Every bank and store was closed that day.
See 7.4 for with and other linking expressions.
7.3 Or, nor
If the subject noun phrases are linked by or, either. . .or, or neither. . .nor, the verb may be singular or plural. When both phrases are singular, the verb is singular:
No food or drink was provided.
Either pollen or dust causes his allergy.
Neither the time nor the place was appropriate.
When both phrases are plural, the verb is plural:
Either the Unionists or the Nationalists have to make concessions.
When one phrase is singular and the other plural, usage guides prefer the verb to agree in number with the phrase closest to it:
Three short essays or one long essay is required.
Neither your brother nor your sisters are responsible.
The plural is very often used in conversation regardless of which phrase precedes the verb.
When the linked units are pronouns that require different verb forms, it is better to avoid having to make a choice. Instead, rephrase the sentence:
Neither you nor I am responsible for the arrangements.
Neither of us is responsible for the arrangements.
7.4 With
When a singular noun phrase is linked to a following noun phrase by a preposition such as with, the subject is singular even though the preposition is similar in meaning to and:
His sister, together with her two youngest children, is staying with them.
The subject is singular because the main noun is singular. Other prepositions used in a similar way include as well as and in addition to:
The teacher, as well as the students, was enjoying the picnic.
In the following sentence, the preposition is after:
One person after another has objected to the proposed reform.