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Joe2012 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Confusion regarding the usage of "S" here

Chums, I'm slightly confuse regarding the usage of "S" in this sentence with the words "lose(s)" and "open(s). I need your help rather "confirmation" to figure out I've used it correctly. I believe "s" will come but I'd like to use it only after your confirmation. So please check it and tell me your views. Here is the sentence

Sentence: "Labour party loses million votes everytime Mr Brown opens his mouth."

Is it right to use "s" with the word lose and open ? What if the sentence contains two, three names more along with Mr. brown ? Does opens become open ?

Thanks
  

Top answer

For the first verb, Mr Brown is irrelevant (in the grammatical sense); the subject is 'party', which is singular: Labour Party loses . For the second verb, it does indeed depend on whether one or more than one individual is in the subject: Mr Brown opens / Mr Brown and Mr Blair open .

— Mister Micawber

  • For the first verb, Mr Brown is irrelevant (in the grammatical sense); the subject is 'party', which is singular: Labour Party loses .
  • For the second verb, it does indeed depend on whether one or more than one individual is in the subject: Mr Brown opens / Mr Brown and Mr Blair open .
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1 Answers
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For the first verb, Mr Brown is irrelevant (in the grammatical sense); the subject is 'party', which is singular: Labour Party loses.

For the second verb, it does indeed depend on whether one or more than one individual is in the subject: Mr Brown opens / Mr Brown and Mr Blair open.
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