Grammar

Question

An investigation is being conducted to see whether the marines or the army _________ responsible for the failure to make the area safe last year.

Choose one answer.

a. was

b. has been

c. were

d. have been

Answer: C?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Both was and were are possible here, since an army can be considered either one military branch or a lot of soldiers.

Imantaghavi · Answer

Dear Mistre Micawber,

Why not the perfect forms?

Would you please give me the reasons?

Regards,

Iman

Mister Micawber · Answer

'Last year'.

Imantaghavi · Answer

Thank you Mistre Micawber for your concern.

Yes. I didn't notice that.

Regards,

Iman

CopenhagenCalling · Answer

Sir Micawber, would you not say that "the marines" would always take a plural, in contrast to "the marine corps", and so, it must be "were"?

The marines run / the marines runs..

the marines sing the national anthem/ the marines sings the national anthem..

Mister Micawber · Answer

The verb is governed by the nearest noun, which is 'army'.

My sister or my two brothers are coming to the party.

My two brothers or my sister is coming to the party.

CopenhagenCalling · Answer

I only ask because I wish to learn. When I look in my grammar books, they all say: "When using 'or', if both elements are singular, then the verb is singular too. However, if one of the elements is plural, then use a plural verb."..this copy-paste is from Grammar-monster..so I am slightly confused.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Nope, 'grammar-monster' is wrong on this one, if that is what it says. What are 'all your grammar books'? I suspect you might be misreading them rather than that they are all wrong on this point.

For instance, Swan's Practical English Usage, the nearest grammar to hand and the most generally respected popular text among EFL teachers, clearly states, 'When two subjects are joined by or the verb is singular if the second subject is singular and plural if it is plural.'

[url=http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/] Purdue University's internet grammar[/url] makes it just as clear:

3. When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by 'or' or 'nor', the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb.

The boy or his friends run every day.

His friends or the boy runs every day.

— as does the very popular [url=http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm] Commnet[/url] site:

The conjunction 'or' does not conjoin (as 'and' does): when 'nor' or 'or' is used, the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number.

Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.
Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.
Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
Is either my father or my brothers responsible?

CopenhagenCalling · Answer

Well that is a copy paste, so it is what it says. I otherwise use the compendium from my uni and Strunk's Elements of Style, although that one says nothing on th point, and the intarwebz, in this case I fell on Grammar monster in first hit..so I admit I may have been hasty and gullible. Certainly I have a newfound distrust of Grammar monster. In any case, I did not mean to contest your knowledge, au contraire, I humbly ask in my search for the greater wisdom

I also think "my brothers or my sister are comming" sounds crazy ofc and so I am glad to actually know better, not by instinct but by sources in the proverbial hand. Thanks.

Elis_sophie · Answer

Thank you so much for the perfect explanations.

Grammar

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions