Dear Manhattan GMAT Instructors,
I have a few questions regarding indefinite pronouns and quantity words.
1. The SC guide states that to determine where SANAM pronouns are singular or plural, you can look at the Of phrase which usually follows the pronoun. However, what if no "of" phrase follows the pronoun?
Eg. Some are good to eat. (Does "some" become plural if there is no "of" phrase aft Likewise for the other SANAM pronouns...)
2. Is the word, "group" a collective singular noun? I get the impression that it can be categorized as an idiomatic expression that designates quantity, but if that is the case, then the verb would be determined by the "of phrase." Is that correct?
Eg1. A group of soldiers [verb]... (is this plural or singular?)
Eg2. A group is going...
3. The SC guide states that subjects preceded by "each" are singular. However, what if you have a compound subject where one subject is preceded by "each" and the other is not:
Eg. Each dog and all of the cats [verb]... (is this subject singular or plural?)
4. The SC guide states that to find the subject, you flip certain sentences. For example, "there are 3 dogs." -> 3 dogs are there.
However, what if the sentence is more complex:
Eg. There are 3 apples or 1 pear.
Do you flip it like this:
3 apples or 1 pear is there.
or like this:
1 pear or 3 apples are there.
Do the two different ways result in different verbs because the verb tense depend on the last noun after the "or"? In other words, should the original sentence have a singular or plural verb?
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- smrt.sell
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- LazyNK
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Re: SC Guide: subject verb agreement questions for instructors
Hey smrt.sell,
1.) Some are good to eat. (Does "some" become plural if there is no "of" phrase aft Likewise for the other SANAM pronouns...)
No, a "some" without an "of" phrase doesn't become plural. It still takes its form (plural or singular) as per its antecedent. The only thing in such statements is that the antecedent is not present in the same statement, but is present in another statement which should normally be present earlier. I give below, examples of both singular and plural usages of "some" without "of" phrase :
When you say , "Some are good to eat", you are probably saying it in continuation with another satement such as : "There are various kinds of berries. Some are good to eat". Here the antecedent of some is "berries", and hence some takes the plural form.
But, what if you had to say : "There is about a litre of milk. Some is in the glass and remaining is in the bowl" . Here, antecedent of some is "milk", and hence some takes singular form.
2.) "Group" is singular mostly, unless there is an intention to refer to each individual in the group separately- "Group of soldiers is going" is fine. For example of "Group" as plural, refer to http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/group.html
But, it is normally a safe bet to use it as singular.
3.) Each dog and all of the cats [verb]... (is this subject singular or plural?)
This is a compound subject joined by the conjuction and. The two subjects joined are "Each dog" and "all of the cats", where "Each dog" is singular and "all of the cats" is plural, but since the complete subject of the sentence is First Subject AND Second Subject, it is plural. Two or more subjects joined by "and" are regarded as a single plural subject. You may have interpreted this as "Each (dog and all of the cats)", but Each doesn't refer to all of parenthesis, but instead the breaking of the subjects is as "(Each dog) and (all of the cats)".
4.) There are 3 apples or 1 pear.
Interesting observation :). May be for this one, I am stating in the form of a rule, whatever we are observing :). The decision depends on that part of the subject which is nearer to the verb. The subject is "3 apples or 1 pear". Written the way when verb is before this subject, the nearer part is "3 apples" and so it becomes "There are". However, written the way when verb is after this subject, the part of the subject nearer to the verb is "1 pear", so the sentence becomes "3 apples or 1 pear is there". I really think there shouldn't be any exceptions to what I said here. But do remember that this will be the case when we have conjunctions other than "AND", such as "OR" which is there in this case. If there were "AND" instead of "OR" in this case, the verb would always be plural, as I mentioned in "3" above.
-NK
1.) Some are good to eat. (Does "some" become plural if there is no "of" phrase aft Likewise for the other SANAM pronouns...)
No, a "some" without an "of" phrase doesn't become plural. It still takes its form (plural or singular) as per its antecedent. The only thing in such statements is that the antecedent is not present in the same statement, but is present in another statement which should normally be present earlier. I give below, examples of both singular and plural usages of "some" without "of" phrase :
When you say , "Some are good to eat", you are probably saying it in continuation with another satement such as : "There are various kinds of berries. Some are good to eat". Here the antecedent of some is "berries", and hence some takes the plural form.
But, what if you had to say : "There is about a litre of milk. Some is in the glass and remaining is in the bowl" . Here, antecedent of some is "milk", and hence some takes singular form.
2.) "Group" is singular mostly, unless there is an intention to refer to each individual in the group separately- "Group of soldiers is going" is fine. For example of "Group" as plural, refer to http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/group.html
But, it is normally a safe bet to use it as singular.
3.) Each dog and all of the cats [verb]... (is this subject singular or plural?)
This is a compound subject joined by the conjuction and. The two subjects joined are "Each dog" and "all of the cats", where "Each dog" is singular and "all of the cats" is plural, but since the complete subject of the sentence is First Subject AND Second Subject, it is plural. Two or more subjects joined by "and" are regarded as a single plural subject. You may have interpreted this as "Each (dog and all of the cats)", but Each doesn't refer to all of parenthesis, but instead the breaking of the subjects is as "(Each dog) and (all of the cats)".
4.) There are 3 apples or 1 pear.
Interesting observation :). May be for this one, I am stating in the form of a rule, whatever we are observing :). The decision depends on that part of the subject which is nearer to the verb. The subject is "3 apples or 1 pear". Written the way when verb is before this subject, the nearer part is "3 apples" and so it becomes "There are". However, written the way when verb is after this subject, the part of the subject nearer to the verb is "1 pear", so the sentence becomes "3 apples or 1 pear is there". I really think there shouldn't be any exceptions to what I said here. But do remember that this will be the case when we have conjunctions other than "AND", such as "OR" which is there in this case. If there were "AND" instead of "OR" in this case, the verb would always be plural, as I mentioned in "3" above.
-NK
- davetzulin
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Re: SC Guide: subject verb agreement questions for instructors
Eg. There are 3 apples or 1 pear.
Do you flip it like this:
3 apples or 1 pear is there.
or like this:
1 pear or 3 apples are there.
i agree with the previous poster, and wanted to add that something in the guide seems to fit:
1 pear or 3 apples are there
is equivalent to
either 1 pear or 3 apples are there
and if you recall, in an either/or neither/nor construct you take the element closest to the verb. If we reverse the elements, the verb changes.
there is either 1 pear or 3 apples
there are either 3 apples or 1 pear there
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