111. Words
joined to a singular subject by with, as well as, etc., are parenthetical. The
verb
should therefore be put in the singular; as,
• The house, with its contents, was insured.
The Mayor, with his councilors, is to be present.
• The ship, with its crew, was lost.
• Silver, as well as cotton, has fallen in
price.
• Sanskrit, as well as Arabic, was taught
there.
• Justice, as well as mercy, allows it.
• The guidance, as well as the love of a
mother, was wanting.
112.
Two or more singular subjects connected by or nor require a singular verb; as.
No nook or
corner was left unexplored.
Our
happiness or our sorrow is largely due to our own actions.
Either the
cat or the dog has been here.
Neither
food nor water was to be found there.
Neither
praise nor blame seems to affect him.
But when
one of the subjects joined by or or nor is plural, the verb must be plural, and
the
plural
subject should be placed nearest the verb ; as,
Neither
the Chairman nor the directors are present.
113. When
the subjects joined by or or nor are of different persons, the verb agrees with
the
nearer; as,
Either he
or I am mistaken.
Either you
or he is mistaken.
Neither
you nor he is to blame.
Neither
my friend not I am to blame.
But it is
better to avoid these constructions, and to write:-
He is
mistaken, or else I am.
You are
mistaken, or else he is.
He is not
to blame, nor are you.
My
friend is not to blame, nor am I.
114.
Either, neither, each, everyone, many a, must be followed by a singular verb;
as,
He asked
me whether either of the applicants was suitable.
Neither of
the two men was very strong.
Each of
these substances is found in India.
Every one
of the prisons is full.
Every one
of the boys loves to ride.
Many a man
has done so.
Many a man
does not know his own good deeds.
Many
a man has succumbed to this temptation.
115. Two
nouns qualified by each or every, even though connected by and, require a
singular
verb; as,
Every
boy and every girl was given a packet of sweets.
116. Some
nouns which are plural in form, but singular in meaning, take a singular verb ;
as,
The news
is true.
Politics
was with him the business of his life.
The wages
of sin is death.
Mathematics
is a branch of study in every school.
117. Pains
and means take either the singular or the plural verb, but the construction
must
be
consistent; as,
Great
pains have been taken.
Much pains
has been taken.
All
possible means have been tried.
The
means employed by you is sufficient.
In the
sense of income, the word means always takes a plural verb; as,
My means
were much reduced owing to that heavy loss.
His
means are ample.
118. Some
nouns which are singular in form, but plural in meaning take a plural verb; as,
According
to the present market rate twelve dozen cost one hundred rupees.
119. None,
though properly singular, commonly takes a plural verb (see § 132); as,
None are
so deaf as those who wilt not hear.
Cows are
amongst the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate
tenderness
to their young.
120. A
Collective noun takes a singular verb when the collection is thought of as one
whole;
plural verb when the individuals of which it is composed are thought of ; as,
The
Committee has issued its report.
The
Committee are divided on one minor point.
But we
must be consistent. Thus, we should say :
The
Committee has appended a note to its (not their) report.
121. When
the plural noun is a proper name for some single object or some collective
unit, it
must be followed by a singular verb; as,
• The Arabian Nights is still a
great favourite.
• The United States has a big
navy.
• Plutarch's Lives is an
interesting book.
• Gulliver's Travels was written by Swift.
122. When
a plural noun denotes some specific quantity or amount considered as a
whole, the
verb is generally singular; as,
Fifteen
minutes is allowed to each speaker.
Ten
kilometers is a long walk.
Fifty
thousand rupees is a large sum.
Three
parts of the business is left for me to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment