0
Df2006 Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Subject-Verb Agreement
As we know, one of the Subject-Verb rules stipulates that the following sentence should use the singular verb ‘is’:
'Michelle, along with several other students, IS planning to attend the event.
This, however, is rather puzzling for some of my students because, to them, this sentence means:
'Michelle AND several other students ARE planning to attend the event.'
Am I on the right track if I explain to them along the line that: although the original sentence (i.e. the one embedded with the ‘along with’ phrase) does imply Michelle AND some other students ARE planning to attend the event, it could have been rewritten as:
‘Michelle IS planning to attend the event, so are the other students.’
Or, do you have other suggestions ? Many thanks.
'Michelle, along with several other students, IS planning to attend the event.
This, however, is rather puzzling for some of my students because, to them, this sentence means:
'Michelle AND several other students ARE planning to attend the event.'
Am I on the right track if I explain to them along the line that: although the original sentence (i.e. the one embedded with the ‘along with’ phrase) does imply Michelle AND some other students ARE planning to attend the event, it could have been rewritten as:
‘Michelle IS planning to attend the event, so are the other students.’
Or, do you have other suggestions ? Many thanks.
Top answer
Hi, Yes, you're basically on the right track. ’ You could explain that the phrase adverbially describes how Michelle is doing her planning. You could also tell them that 'along with' is like 'in addition to', or 'together with'.
- Hi, Yes, you're basically on the right track.
- ’ You could explain that the phrase adverbially describes how Michelle is doing her planning.
- You could also tell them that 'along with' is like 'in addition to', or 'together with'.
- It's not just the same meaning as a simple 'and'.
- Best wishes, Clive
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
Hi,
Yes, you're basically on the right track. You might make your point more clearly if you just keep to the exact same wording, ie ‘Michelle is planning to attend the event, along with several other students.’
You could explain that the phrase adverbially describes how Michelle is doing her planning.
You could also tell them that 'along with' is like
Yes, you're basically on the right track. You might make your point more clearly if you just keep to the exact same wording, ie ‘Michelle is planning to attend the event, along with several other students.’
You could explain that the phrase adverbially describes how Michelle is doing her planning.
You could also tell them that 'along with' is like
0
Related Questions