Transcript sentence

CLASS #1: AP
CLASS #2: AP/AdvP
MIDTERM
CLASS #3: AdvP, PP
CLASS #4: PP
CLASS #5: ADVERBIALS
CLASS #6: ADVERBIALS
CLASS #7: ADVERBIALS AND
MIDTERM OVERVIEW
CLASS #8: MIDTERM OVERVIEW and SIMPLE SENTENCE
CLASS #9: SIMPLE SENTENCE
CLASS #10: SIMPLE SENTENCE
CLASS #11: COMPLEX SENTENCE
CLASS #12: COMPLEX SENTENCE
CLASS #13: COMPLEX SENTENCE ,
WRAP-UP & ORAL EXAM HINTS
SINCE WE ARE SLIGHTLY BEHIND SCHEDULE IN
TERMS OF PRACTICE CLASSES…
 THE
MIDTERM EXAM IS RE-SCHEDULED FOR
 MAY 15, 2012
THAT’S TUESDAY FOUR WEEKS FROM NOW.
 THE EXACT TIME WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON, BUT
IT WILL BE IN THE AFTERNOON AND IT WILL TAKE
PLACE IN THE AUDITORIUM (‘AMFITEATAR’)
MIDTERM TEST - OVERVIEW
WHAT IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE…
IT’S WORTH TAKING A GOOD LOOK,
BECAUSE IT’S WORTH 25% (OF YOUR FINAL
GRADE)
NOW, LET ME WALK YOU THROUGH
EACH TASK…
SO THAT YOU CAN BE FULLY PREPARED…
1. Identify the word class of the underlined items
in the following sentences:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
ADJ
He was the last person to hear the news.
__________
ADV
He finished last.
__________
ADV
She thinks highly of her teachers.
__________
P
I’ve been feeling under stress lately.
__________
CONJ.
It may be many years before the situation improves.
__________
P
The task before us is a difficult one.
__________
ADV
We drove up to Inverness to see my father.
__________
ADJ
In case of emergency, take the up escalator.
__________
ADV
You should have told me so before.
__________
The travel agent recommended a cruise up the Neva.
__________
P
ADVERB PARTICLE OF A PHRASAL
VERB
Don’t you ever give up!
__________
2. Underline the required phrases in the following
sentences and analyze their structure and syntactic
function. Examples:
She is [very happy] S: AdjP=Adv+Adj; F: Cs
He speaks [fluently enough]. S: AdvP=Adv+Adv; F: A
She has [a house in the woods] S: PP=P+NP; F: complement of NP
 2.1. APs – Adjective phrases
a) This is a very interesting book.
AP=Adv + ADJ
premodication in an NP
S: _____________________
F: ______________________
b) She isn’t old enough to get married.
AP=Adv + ADJ +Cl (n.f.) F: _____________________
Cs
S: _____________________
c) We are delighted that you have made it.
AP=ADJ +Cl (f.)
Cs
S: _____________________
F: ____________________
d) He found her prettier than her sister.
AP=ADJ +PP
Co
S: _____________________
F: _____________________
2. Underline the required phrases in the following
sentences and analyze their structure and syntactic
function. Examples:
She is [very happy] S: AdjP=Adv+Adj; F: Cs
He speaks [fluently enough]. S: AdvP=Adv+Adv; F: A
She has [a house in the woods] S: PP=P+NP; F: complement of NP
 2.2. AdvPs – Adverb phrases
e) He plays the piano surprisingly well
AdvP=Adv + ADV
A(dverbial)
S: ___________________
F: ___________________
f) I hope to meet him soon enough.
AdvP=Adv + ADV
A(dverbial)
S: ____________________
F:___________________
g) He spoke too fast for us to take notes.
AdvP=Adv + ADV+ Cl(non-f.)
A(dverbial)
S: _________________
F: _____________________
2. Underline the required phrases in the following
sentences and analyze their structure and syntactic
function. Examples:
She is [very happy] S: AdjP=Adv+Adj; F: Cs
He speaks [fluently enough]. S: AdvP=Adv+Adv; F: A
She has [a house in the woods] S: PP=P+NP; F: complement of NP
 2.3. PPs – Prepositional phrases
h) An extra £10 million will be sent to the flooded region.
PP=P +NP
S: ___________________________
F: _________
obligatory ADVERBIAL
i) For certain personal reasons I shall not be able to attend.
PP= P + NP
optional ADVERBIAL
S: ___________________________
F: _________
j) We’re very sorry about the damage we caused.
PP=P +NP
complement of AP
S: ___________________________
F: ______________
k) From what I heard, the company’s in deep trouble.
PP=P +Cl (finite, wh)
S: ___________________________
F: _____________
optional ADVERBIAL
PP=P +NP
obligatory ADVERBIAL
S: ___________________________
F: _____________
3. Arrange the adjectives into the correct order within
the NP:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
dress (silk/ long/ extravagant/ red)
an extravagant long red silk dress
_____________________________________________________
dog (brown/ friendly/ large)
a friendly large brown dog
_____________________________________________________
biscuits (home-made/ delicious/ chocolate)
delicious home-made chocolate biscuits
_____________________________________________________
skirt (striped / tight / silk)
a tight striped silk skirt
_____________________________________________________
woman (thirty-year old / attractive / tall / blonde)
an attractive tall thirty-year old blonde woman
_____________________________________________________
4. Transform the following sentences by changing the
nouns with adjectives into verbs followed by suitable
expressions (AdvP, AdjP, PP):
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
There has been a drastic fall in the dollar.
The dollar has fallen drastically.
_________________________________________________________
Why did she give me such a stern look?
Why did she look at me so sternly?
_________________________________________________________
Tom is a good cook.
Tom cooks well.
_________________________________________________________
I gave her a fatherly talk.
I talked to her in a fatherly way/manner.
_________________________________________________________
The flowers had a fragrant smell.
The flowers smelt/smelled fragrant.
_________________________________________________________
5. Rephrase the sentences so that they begin with the
words in italics:
 I have never met such a man.
Never have I met such a man.
 _______________________________________________
 You should not sign the document on any account.
On no account should you sign the document.
____________________________________
 I realized what happened only when they left.
Only when they left did I realize what happened.
_________________________________________
 A truer word has seldom been spoken.
Seldom has a truer word been spoken.
______________________________________________
6. Underline the adverbs in each of the following sentences and
determine their syntactic functions (1. Adverbial - adjunct, conjunct,
disjunct; 2. Modifier of – NP, AdjP, AdvP, PP, Det; 3. Complement of P):
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Understandably, the project was a success.
ADVERBIAL - disjunct
She has an awfully bad temper.
MODIFIER - AP
He showed us straight to our seats.
MODIFIER - PP
Mary works very hard.
1:MODIFIER - AdvP
2:ADVERBIAL- adjunct
MODIFIER - NP
He is quite a nice man.
1: ADVERBIAL - conjunct
Yet, she could never forgive him.
2: ADVERBIAL- adjunct
Over twenty people came to the party.
MODIFIER - Determiner
This letter came from abroad.
Complement of P
Exercises 7 & 8 deal with ADVERBIALS
STRUCTURE, POSITION AND SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION
 7. Underline all the adverbials in the following sentences
and specify their a. type (adjunct, conjunct, disjunct), and
subtype; b. position in sentence (I, M, F):
 Example:The people upstairs are noisy [in the evening]. type: adjunct (time,
time-when); position: F
 a) It is my opinion, personally, that she is totally wrong.
DISJUNCT
STYLE
POSITION: M
 b) Studying hard, she got a scholarship.
ADJUNCT
CONTINGENCY: REASON
 c) I go to school by bicycle.
ADJUNCT (to school) SPACE/PLACE: GOAL
ADJUNCT (by bicycle) PROCESS: MEANS
 d) The lady in the last row was talking very loudly.
ADJUNCT
PROCESS: MANNER
POSITION: I
POSITION: F
POSITION: F
POSITION: F
 e) In spite of his excellent knowledge, he failed the exam.
ADJUNCT
CONTINGENCY: CONCESSION
POSITION: I
 7. Underline all the adverbials in the following sentences
and specify their a. type (adjunct, conjunct, disjunct), and
subtype; b. position in sentence (I, M, F):
 Example:The people upstairs are noisy [in the evening]. type: adjunct (time,
time-when); position: F
 f) I miss you so much!
ADJUNCT
DEGREE/INTENSIFIER: AMPLIFIER
POSITION: F
 g) To sum up, the initial hypothesis was flawed.
CONJUNCT
SUMMATIVE
POSITION: I
 h) She is probably going to dump him.
ADJUNCT
MODALITY: APPROXIMATION
POSITION: M
 i) As far as science is concerned, this is irrelevant.
ADJUNCT
VIEWPOINT (sentence adjunct)
POSITION: I
 j) He usually sees his child twice a week.
ADJUNCT (usually)
ADJUNCT (twice…)
TIME: FREQUENCY
TIME: FREQUENCY
POSITION: M
POSITION: F
 7. Underline all the adverbials in the following sentences
and specify their a. type (adjunct, conjunct, disjunct), and
subtype; b. position in sentence (I, M, F):
 k) Resentfully, she accepted his invitation.
ADJUNCT
SUBJUNCT: GENERAL/VOLITIONAL
POSITION: I
 l) I only tried to illustrate a problem.
ADJUNCT
FOCUSING: LIMITER
POSITION: M
 m) By the way, talking softly like that, I hardly kept my cool.
CONJUNCT (by…)
TRANSITIONAL
ADJUNCT (talking…) CONTINGENCY: CAUSE/REASON
ADJUNCT (hardy)
DEGREE/INTENSIFIER: DOWNTONER
POSITION: I
POSITION: I
POSITION: M
 n) Frankly speaking, he did not drive fast enough, so I could not pass
Massa.
DISJUNCT (Frankly…)
STYLE
POSITION: I
ADJUNCT (fast enough) PROCESS: MANNER
POSITION: F
ADJUNCT (so I …)
POSITION: F
CONTINGENCY: RESULT
 8. Underline all the adverbials in the following sentences
and specify their syntactic structure (type of phrase or
clause):
 Example:The people upstairs are noisy [in the evening]. structure: PP
 a) When red, these apples are ripe.
VERBLESS ADJECTIVE CLAUSE
 b) From an ecological point of view, these cars are considered to be
very similar.
PP
 c) The man in the corner complained very angrily.
AdvP
 d) The woman standing behind you is rather sad, although she has
just received her salary.
FINITE CLAUSE
 8. Underline all the adverbials in the following sentences
and specify their syntactic structure (type of phrase or
clause):
 Example:The people upstairs are noisy [in the evening]. structure: PP
PP
PP
FINITE CLAUSE
 e) Hardly anyone went to the meeting on Wednesday because they
were not given enough time to prepare.
NON-FINITE CLAUSE
 f) Driving home, I ran into some problems.
NON-FINITE CLAUSE
 g) To be honest, I don’t think that she is telling the truth.
NON-FINITE CLAUSE
 h) She risked her job in order to solve the problem.
 8. Underline all the adverbials in the following sentences
and specify their syntactic structure (type of phrase or
clause):
 Example:The people upstairs are noisy [in the evening]. structure: PP
PP
 i) She learns English with great enthusiasm.
 j) They had covered a long distance.
X = THERE ARE NO ADVERBIALS IN THIS SENTENCE.
In “He swam a long distance.”, “a long distance” is an
ADVERBIAL, because you can ask a question “How much
did he swim?”, although it is ambiguous, since it can also
be an object (A long distance was swum.).
THE SIMPLE SENTENCE
LECTURE #1 – 2012-04-25
WHAT IS A SENTENCE?
Basic concepts of a science are notoriously
difficult to define, e.g. atom, number, society, etc.
SENTENCE

In the traditional view, a sentence is defined:
 “A
sequence of words that is complete in itself,
conveying a statement, question, exclamation or
command, typically containing a subject and
predicate.” (OED)
 “A group of words that usually contains a subject and a
verb, and expresses a complete idea” (LDOCE)
 “A grammatical unit that is syntactically independent
and has a subject that is expressed or, as in imperative
sentences, understood and a predicate that contains at
least one finite verb.” (MWED)
SENTENCE

In computational linguistics, a sentence is defined:
 “A
sequence of words that begins with capital letter
and ends in “.”, “!” or “?”.” (Manning and Schutze)
SENTENCE: some examples








“A dog sleeps.”
“A friendly dog in the kennel next to our house
sleeps like a baby.”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“Good.”
“Aaaah, a dog!”
“The more, the merrier!”
“To hell with Skyrim!”
SENTENCE: some examples







“A dog sleeps [wherever it finds a suitable place].”
“I know [that a friendly dog in the kennel next to
our house sleeps like a baby].”
“Stop [doing that]!”
“Stop that!”
“Stop!”
“Wow!”
“A-ha.”
SENTENCE: what examples tell us

Not all sentences contain the subject and the verb:
 Structures
such as “Wow!”, “Yes.”, “Aaaah, a dog!”,
“The more, the marrier.”, which do not contain a subject
and a verb, are called SENTENCE FRAGMENTS or
MINOR SENTENCES.
 Structures such as “A dog sleeps.” and “I bought a book
yesterday in a nice bookstore somewhere on the West
Side.”, which do contain both a subject and a verb, are
called FULL SENTENCES or MAJOR SENTENCES.
SENTENCE: what examples tell us

Not all sentences contain just one subject and one
verb:
 Structures
such as “A dog sleeps.” and “I bought a book
yesterday in a nice bookstore somewhere on the West
Side.”, which contain just one subject and one verb, are
called SIMPLE SENTENCES.
 Structures such as “A dog sleeps [wherever it finds a
suitable place].” and “I know [that a friendly dog in the
kennel next to our house sleeps like a baby].”, which
contain more than one subject and a verb (i.e. which
contain more than one clause), are called COMPLEX
SENTENCES.
WHAT IS A CLAUSE?
SENTENCE vs. CLAUSE
SENTENCE
CLAUSE
CLAUSE

In the traditional view, a clause is defined:
 “A
unit of grammatical organization next below the
sentence in rank, and in traditional grammar said to
consist of a subject and predicate.” (OED)
 “A group of words that contains a subject and a verb,
but which is usually only part of a sentence.” (LDOCE)
 “A group of words containing a subject and a
predicate and forming part of a compound or complex
sentence.” (MWED)
SENTENCE vs. CLAUSE



CLAUSE – a syntactic unit which is larger than a
phrase and which consists of ONE PREDICATION.
Clauses can be both FINITE and NON-FINITE, and
DEPENDENT and INDEPENDENT.
SENTENCE – the biggest syntactic unit. It consists of
at least one clause. Sentences are always FINITE.
Sentences are always INDEPENDENT.
E.g.
clause (non-finite), function: S, structure: VCs
To
be
happy
clause (non-finite), function: Od, structure: VA
means
to
be
in
love.
clause (finite) = sentence, structure: S(clause) V Od(clause)
SENTENCE vs. CLAUSE
Some other examples:
I am happy.

clause (finite) = sentence, structure: S V Cs
clause (non-finite), function: Od, structure: V Cs
I want to be happy.
clause (finite) = sentence, structure: S V Od(clause)
clause (finite), function: Od, structure: S V Od (clause)
clause (non-finite), function: Od, structure: VCs
I know that he wants to be happy.
clause (finite) = sentence, structure: S V Od(clause)
SENTENCE vs. CLAUSE
The previous example showed us an important feature of all
human languages including English:
 LANGUAGES ARE RECURSIVE
 IN OTHER WORDS, YOU CAN EMBED A CLAUSE INTO
ANOTHER CLAUSE AND THEN EMBED YET ANOTHER
CLAUSE INTO THAT CLASUE, AND THEN DO IT AGAIN…
Mary is telling the truth.
I know [that Mary is telling the truth].
I know [that John knows [that Mary is telling the truth]].
I know [that John knows [ that Bill knows [that Mary is telling
the truth]]].
I know [that John knows [ that Bill knows [ that the police
believe [that Mary is telling the truth]]]].

CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES
STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION
CLASSIFICAITION OF SENTENCES

STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION = based on the
NUMBER AND TYPE of clauses in a sentence:
SENTENCE
SIMPLE
COMPLEX
COMPOUND
VERB CLASSES



One of the properties of verbs is VALENCY.
VALENCY is the number of obligatory elements that
a particular verb takes.
On the basis of VALENCY verbs can be divided into
five types.
VERB CLASSES
VERBS
INTENSIVE
EXTENSIVE
INTRANSITIVE
monotransitive
ditransitive
TRANSITIVE
complex
transitive
CLAUSE TYPES
ON THE BASIS OF VERB CLASSES
CLAUSE TYPES
VERBS
CLAUSE TYPES
THE SINGLE VERB ELEMENT OF A
SIMPLE SENTENCE IS ALWAYS A
FINITE VERBS
VP.
INTENSIVE/LINKING
SO, THESE ARE THE 7 TYPES OF
SIMPLE SENTENCES
IN ENGLISH
INTRANSITIVE
EXTENSIVE
TRANSITIVE
1. SVCs
2. SVA
3. SV
MONOTRANSITIVE
4. SVO
DITRANSITIVE
5. SVOiOd
COMPLEX TRANSITIVE 6. SVOCo
7. SVOA
CLAUSE TYPES
Naturally, OPTIONAL ADVERBIAL may be added to
sentences of any type:
(Luckily) the sun is (already) shining.
I (definitely) must send her a birthday card (tomorrow).
 The S, V, O and C are OBLIGATORY sentence
elements, whereas the A can be either OBLIGATORY
or OPTIONAL. The A is obligatory in the SVA and
SVOA clause types:
John often goes to the cinema. S(A)VA
She kept the children in bed during the storm. SVOA(A)

SENTENCE ELEMENTS
SYNTACTICALLY DEFINED
SYNTACTIC CONSTITUENTS (S, V, O, C, A) can be realized in different forms:
PHRASES and CLAUSES
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
syntactically defined
PP
In the state of nirvana is how I want to feel.
AdvP
Here is the latest report from Tripoli.
Tomorrow is Thursday.
AP
Beautiful beyond words is how I would describe her.
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
syntactically defined
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
syntactically defined
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
syntactically defined
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
SEMANTICALLY DEFINED
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
semantically defined
Let’s take a simple sentence as an example:
Eric Cartman killed Kenny with a knife.
SUBJECT
VERB
OBJECT
ADVERBIAL
A syntactic analysis of the sentence would yield the
following syntactic structure: SVOA
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
semantically defined
Semantically speaking, every verb describes a
SITUATION in which one or more PARTICIPANTS are
involved.
If we look at the sentence “Eric Cartman killed Kenny
with a knife.” we can say that the verb KILL describes
a situation which involves three different participants:
1 = THE PERSON WHO
PERFORMED THE ACTIVITY
2 = THE PERSON WHO WAS
KILLED
3 = THE INSTRUMENT USED
FOR KILLING
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
semantically defined
One SYNTACTIC ELEMENT/CONSTITUENT can have
VARIOUS SEMANTIC ROLES.
For example, the SUBJECT can have three different semantic
roles:
John opened the door. (SUBJECT is the AGENT)
The key opened the door. (SUBJECT is the INSTRUMENT)
The door opened. (SUBJECT is the THEME/PATIENT)
Actually, this is just the tip of the iceberg: the subject can
have as many as THIRTEEN (13!!!) different semantic roles.
SUBJECT – semantically defined
DIRECT OBJECT – semantically defined
INDIRECT OBJECT – semantically defined
COMPLEMENTS – semantically defined
NOW…
…SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
CONCORD
CONCORD
Concord is AGREEMENT between two sentence
elements with respect to certain grammatical features.
Officially:
CONCORD
(sometimes
termed
AGREEMENT) is 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 unit.
There are several types of concord.
Even in English! But more about it later.
WHERE CAN WE SEE CONCORD?
*Mary were in London yesterday. S-V concord (person &
number)
*John cut herself. S-O concord (gender, person, number)
*John cut themselves. S-O concord (gender, person,
number)
*John is an actress. S-Cs concord (gender, person,
number)
*John considers Bill an actress. S-Co concord (gender,
person, number)
*John considers them an actor. S-Co concord (gender,
person, number)
CONCORD – types of
CONCORD
Depending on
SENTENCE
ELEMENT
Subject-verb
concord
Subjectcomplement
concord
Objectcomplement
concord
Depending on
GRAMMATICAL
FEATURES
Concord of
NUMBER
Concord of
PERSON
Concord of
GENDER
S-V concord: NOUN PHRASES
The CHANGE in male attitudes is most obvious in
industry.
The CHANGES in male attitude are most obvious in
industry.
When the subject is realized by a noun phrase, the
phrase counts as singular IF ITS HEAD IS SINGULAR.
S-V concord: AdvP and PP
Slowly does it!
In the evenings is best for me.
Prepositional phrases and adverb phrases functioning
as subjects count as SINGULAR.
S-V concord: CLAUSES
How they got there doesn’t concern me.
To treat them as hostages is criminal.
Smoking cigarettes is dangerous to your health.
Finite and non-finite clauses generally count as
SINGULAR.
However, there are some apparent exceptions.
S-V concord: clauses add-on
What were supposed to be new proposals were in fact
modifications of earlier ones.
What was once a palace is now a pile of rubble.
Whatever book a Times reviewer praises sells well.
What ideas he has are his wife’s.
 These are NOMINAL RELATIVE CLAUSES:
 their number depends on the interpretation of the number
of the WH-ELEMENT, e.g. with determiners WHAT and
WHATEVER the concord depends on the number of the
determined noun (the last two examples)
S-V concord: general rules
General rule of S-V concord:
A subject which is not clearly semantically plural
requires a singular verb.
In other words: SINGULAR is the UNMARKED FORM
which is to be used in neutral circumstances when
there is no positive.
This explains why in informal speech we can often
hear:
There is hundreds of people in the streets.
S-V concord: exceptions
Measles is sometimes serious.
Our people are complaining.
Apparent exceptions include SINGULAR NOUNS
ending in –S (e.g. measles, billards, mathematics, etc.)
and PLURAL NOUNS lacking the –S (e.g. cattle,
people, clergy, etc.).
S-V concord: exceptions
Crime and Punishment is a great novel.
Brother Karamzov is his masterpiece.
The Cedars has a huge garden.
‘Senior citizens’ means people over sixty.
Plural noun phrases (including coordinate phrases) count
as singular if they are used as NAMES, TITLES,
QUOTATIONS, etc.
Such NPs can be regarded as appositive structures with
an implied singular head: the book ‘Crime and
Punishment’, the expression ‘senior citizens’, etc.
S-V concord: exceptions
The Canterbury Tales exists in many manuscripts.
The Canterbury Tales exist in many manuscripts.
The titles of some works that are collection of stories
may be counted as either singular or plural.
Principles of grammatical concord:
NOTIONAL concord & PROXIMITY
No one except his own supporters AGREE with him.
 The head is NO ONE, but the verb agrees with
SUPPORTERS – this is called PROXIMITY.
 PROXIMITY (also called ‘ATTRACTION’) denotes
agreement of the verb with a closely preceding NP in
preference to agreement with the head of the NP that
functions as subject:
 Proximity is here reinforced by NOTIONAL CONCORD
(‘Only his own supporters agree with him’).
 NOTIONAL CONCORD – how the speaker understands
the concept denoted with the NP (singular or plural)
regardless of the grammatical form
EXAMPLES OF NOTIONAL CONCORD

Ten dollars is all I have left.


Fifteen years represents a long period of his life.



[That distance is…]
Two thirds of the area is under water.


[That period is…]
Two miles is as far as they can walk.


[That amount is…]
[That area is…],
BUT:
Sixty people means a huge party.

[That number of people means…]
Principles of grammatical concord:
NOTIONAL concord & PROXIMITY



Conflict between grammatical concord and proximity
increases with the distance between the NP head of the
subject and the VP (e.g. when an adverbial or a
parenthesis intervenes between the subject and the
verb).
Proximity concord occurs mainly in unplanned discourse
– in writing it will be corrected to grammatical concord.
We will discuss GRAMMATICAL CONCORD, NOTIONAL
CONCORD and PROXIMITY in the following cases:
Collective noun head
 Coordinated subject
 Indefinite expressions

COLLECTIVE NOUNS
The audience were enjoying every minute of it.
The public are tired of demonstration.
England have won the cup.
Our Planning Committee have considered…
Singular collective nouns may be notionally plural. In
BRITISH ENGLISH the verb may be EITHER
SINGULAR or PLURAL.
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
The audience was enormous.
The public consists of you and me.
The crowd has been dispersed.
The choice between singular and plural verbs
depends in BRITISH ENGLISH on whether the group
is being considered as a single undivided body or
as a collection of individuals.
On the whole: the plural is more popular in speech,
whereas in writing the singular is preferred.
COORDINATED SUBJECTS
When a subject consists of TWO or MORE noun
phrases (or clauses) coordinated by AND, we must
make a distinction between:
COORDINATION (PROPER)
COORDINATIVE APPOSITION
COORDINATION (PROPER)
Tom and Alice ARE now ready.
=[Tom is now ready and Alice is now ready.]
 What I say and what I think ARE my own affair.
=[What I say is my own affair and what I think is my own
affair]
BUT:
 What I say and do IS my own affair.
COORDINATION REFERS TO CASES WHEN WE HAVE
FULL COORDINATED FORMS (not REDUCED FORMS).
A PLURAL VERB IS USED EVEN IF EACH CONJOIN IS
SINGULAR.

COORDINATION (PROPER)
His camera, his phone, his money WERE confiscated
by the customs officials.
A PLURAL VERB IS ALSO NEEDED WHEN THERE IS NO
COORDINATOR.

COORDINATION (PROPER)
You problem and mine ARE similar.
=[Your problem is similar to mine and mine is similar
to yours.]
 What I say and do ARE two different things.
=[What I say is one thing and what I do is another
thing.]
Conjoins expressing MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP are
also PLURAL.

COORDINATION PROPER TRICKY
ISSUE
Every adult and every child was holding a flag.
 Each senator and congressman was allocated two
seats.
 Each of them has signed the petition.
BUT:
 They have each signed allocated two seats.
PREPOSED EACH AND EVERY HAVE A DISTRIBUTIVE
EFFECT AND REQUIRE A SINGULAR VERB.

COORDINATIVE APPOSITION
This temple of ugliness and memorial to Victorian bad
taste was erected in the main street of the city.
BUT:
 His ages servant and the subsequent editor of his
collected papers was with him at his deathbed.
 His ages servant and the subsequent editor of his
collected papers were with him at his deathbed.
SINGULAR IS USED IF THE SERVANT AND THE EDITOR
ARE THE SAME PERSON (APPOSITIVE
COORDINATION) AND PLURAL IS USED IF THEY ARE
TWO DIFFERENT PERSONS (COORDINATION
PROPER).

COORDINATION WITH
OR AND NOR
Either the Mayor or her deputy IS (ARE) bound to come.
2.
What I say or what I think IS(ARE) no business of yours.
3.
Either the strikers of the bosses (HAS) HAVE misunderstood the
claim.
4.
Either your brakes or your eyesight IS (ARE) at fault.
5.
Either your eyesight or your brakes ARE (IS) at fault.
When coordinated items have the same number, there is pure
grammatical concord: when they are both singular (1 and 2) the
verb is also singular, when they are both plural (3), the verb is also
plural.
When coordinated items do not have the same number, English follows
the principle of PROXIMITY: whichever phrase comes last determines
the number of the verb. (4 and 5).
NOT…BUT and NOT ONLY…BUT behave like EITHER…OR.
1.
INDEFINITE EXPRESSIONS AS SUBJECT
- CONCORD
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!
CU NEXT WEEK!
THE END