sushant Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 Guys, It must be simple for some, but am confused! Michel and other students are going to the class, Other students and Michel is going to the class When a singular and plural subjects are joined by "and", which one governs the verb? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transyt7 Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 Either way, it is 'are'.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
post2ashish Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 As far as my knowledge goes, if we r connecting two nouns by 'and'... a plural verb has to be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sushant Posted September 6, 2004 Author Share Posted September 6, 2004 what about connecting singular and plural subject with OR. little water or few services exists (or exist) Pls. help me understand this basic thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transyt7 Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 sushant, 1. when u use 'and' and both subjects of the compound subject refer to the same thing, it takes a 'singular' form. e.g., Bacon and eggs is not good for heart. (here 'bacon and eggs' is considered one unit) e.g., The red, white and blue flutters on the capitol hill (here, it is refering to only one thing, i.e., the US flag) e.g., The president and CEO of the company is fired. 2. When 'and' is used as part of compound subject with the subjects being two different things, the sentence needs to have 'plural' verb... e.g., Chemistry and Engineering are prerequisites. e.g., The president and the CEO of the organization are fired. (Compare this sentence to the last example in 1; This sentence has 'the' before CEO and thus makes the two people different. Therefore, plural 'are'. However, in the earlier example of 1, it refers to only one person (president and CEO, both being the same person) and therefore singular 'is'. 3. A compound subject with a 'singular' and 'plural' subject, when joined by 'or' or 'nor', the 'verb' should agree with the 'nearest subject' e.g., Usually, either the secretaries or the hiring manager calls the prospective employer. In your example, it should be... Little water or few services exist. HTH and further suggestions and comments are welcome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comp_bos Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 sushant, 1. when u use 'and' and both subjects of the compound subject refer to the same thing, it takes a 'singular' form. e.g., Bacon and eggs is not good for heart. (here 'bacon and eggs' is considered one unit) e.g., The red, white and blue flutters on the capitol hill (here, it is refering to only one thing, i.e., the US flag) e.g., The president and CEO of the company is fired. 2. When 'and' is used as part of compound subject with the subjects being two different things, the sentence needs to have 'plural' verb... e.g., Chemistry and Engineering are prerequisites. e.g., The president and the CEO of the organization are fired. (Compare this sentence to the last example in 1; This sentence has 'the' before CEO and thus makes the two people different. Therefore, plural 'are'. However, in the earlier example of 1, it refers to only one person (president and CEO, both being the same person) and therefore singular 'is'. 3. A compound subject with a 'singular' and 'plural' subject, when joined by 'or' or 'nor', the 'verb' should agree with the 'nearest subject' e.g., Usually, either the secretaries or the hiring manager calls the prospective employer. In your example, it should be... Little water or few services exist. HTH and further suggestions and comments are welcome... Can anyone please comment on blue & red portions. Blue colored portion seems awkward to me. And red one seems wrong to me. I have an understanding that Only "and" can create a plural subject so it should be Little water or few services exists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greycellz Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 'few services' is plural, hence exist is to be used Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comp_bos Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 Thanks grey. What about blue portion..? Bacon and eggs is not good for heart. (here 'bacon and eggs' is considered one unit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greycellz Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 I think there are certain phrases that can be used as singular, even though they have a co-ordinating conjunction connecting them. We say : This is bread and butter for me (Not These are bread and butter for me) So, such phrases would be correctly used in their singular form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuM Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 Invaluable discussion. Great job there Grey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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