0
Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Subject-Predicate Agreement Re: Plurality
A. These people are the source of my strength because they always inspire me.
B. These people are the sources of my strength because they always inspire me.
Should the plurality of the subject always agree with the predicate, meaning the latter should also be plural when the former is plural?
In the above examples, to my ear, A (singular) sounds better. I'm not sure, though. Kindly explain.
B. These people are the sources of my strength because they always inspire me.
Should the plurality of the subject always agree with the predicate, meaning the latter should also be plural when the former is plural?
In the above examples, to my ear, A (singular) sounds better. I'm not sure, though. Kindly explain.
Top answer
Grammatical concord is often a deciding factor, but notional and proximal concord also affect number choice. unless you are thinking of several specific people.
- Grammatical concord is often a deciding factor, but notional and proximal concord also affect number choice.
- unless you are thinking of several specific people.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
Grammatical concord is often a deciding factor, but notional and proximal concord also affect number choice.
People are the source sounds good because it is really a single conceptual source...unless you are thinking of several specific people.
People are the source sounds good because it is really a single conceptual source...unless you are thinking of several specific people.
00
Thank you for your explanation. This makes perfect sense to me now. Cheers.
0
Related Questions