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HelpMePlease Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

I am having trouble with subject verb agreements

example: The committee lead very different lives in private.

There were two answers for me to choose: lead or leads. I chose leads and I was wrong. In the instructions it says for collective nouns like comittee, use a singular verb (leads). Why was I wrong?

If anyone could help me out, could you give me a few subject-verb agreement questions for me to answer? I need the practice and help!
  

Top answer

So dear why is your answer wrong if you chose leads ? Anyway, this is a different dituation really. Sometimes you can both use colloective nouns as either singular or plural.

— Doll

  • So dear why is your answer wrong if you chose leads ?
  • Anyway, this is a different dituation really.
  • Sometimes you can both use colloective nouns as either singular or plural.
  • For example: Her parents are bad: Her mom and dad...
  • Her parents is bad: WE mean both the mother and father.
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8 Answers
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So dear why is your answer wrong if you chose leads ?

Anyway, this is a different dituation really. Sometimes you can both use colloective nouns as either singular or plural. For example:

Her parents are bad: Her mom and dad... Her parents is bad: WE mean both the mother and father. We don't think them personally.

Turkish football team are playing exc
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Welcome to the forums! In your example the word "committee" is called a collective noun. This denotes a group of people acting as one, and could be singular or plural depending on whether their action is individual or collective. In this case it's individual--think "The members of the committee lead very different lives in private." In other words the committee members act as individua
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I appreciate the advices.

...So in the example they gave me, was it their fault for not giving enough details? i.e. They should of added "The members" ?
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I've done more subject-verb agreement questions and I'm still making lots of mistakes.

From: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/agreement_add1.htm?cgi_quiz_form=1

The text in blue is my question of why I'm wrong.

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6. their seats is the clue. The jury is thought of a plurality. That's why the plural seats is used. That's why they want you to answer take, the plural form.. (You had the same pattern earlier: The committee ... different lives ...)

9. one of ( those cities that are ) cities is plural. It's saying The ci
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In a few cases, the plural verb is used with collective nouns if the individuals in the group are thought of and specifically referred to.
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Your grammar is not very good. How can I trust your answer??????
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Some of the grain ________ gone bad.
HAVE
HAS

The correct response is "HAS". Again, I am confused, Some is plural, so I chose have and I was wrong.

Why am I so bad at this? Is it because I'm having a hard time identifying the right subject of the clause?

Here the word 'Some' is an indefinite
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