Subject verb agreement

Question

Hi,For example:One of the girls were dead in this devastating accident.verb: deadSubject: girlsIs this correct?

JohnParis · Accepted Answer

One of the girls died in this devastating accident.

One of the girls was killed in this devastating accident.

"were dead" and "were died" are not correct.

Jenniferunagi · Answer

Thanks!

May I know why were died and were died cant be use and the use of was instead of were?

Cheers,

Jennifer Unagi:)

JohnParis · Answer

Jennifer - try and think this through.

One girl died. A girl died.

One girl was killed.

Two of the girls died.

Two of the girls were killed.

Three girls were dead/had died by the time help arrived.

You've seen these constructions before. Take another look at the conjugation of the verb "to die".

Dimsumexpress · Answer

jenniferunagiThanks!
May I know why were died and were died cant be use and the use of was instead of were?

Cheers,
Jennifer Unagi:)

Hi Jennifer,

I am not sure if this phrase [ may I know] was actually taught in school in non-English speaking countries but I've noticed

it being used very often on the forum. This is actually very awkward English. The correct and polite form of asking people question is "Could you tell me the difference...", or Would you mind explaining the difference....?"

May I know - is something natives would never say.

A-star already answered and explained your question very clearly. I just wanted to add a comment.

We can't have two verbs to describe death in the same sentence.

She was died - is wrong. She is dead - is correct.

They were killed in an auto accident - correct

They were dead .....correct

They were died -very bad English.

So it depends on how you want to express your morbid thoughts, you have to choose either [she is dead as a result of an auto accident] or, [she died in an auto accident ].

JohnParis · Answer

Hi Dimsum and Jennifer,

May versus can is an old struggle. Up until recently, may was always associated with permission and can was associated with ability.

As a child at the dinner table, my request of “can I have more of…” was systematically met with a “no you may not” because my Mom considered the question very poor English. And she was correct. Technically. But things change and the line between the two is getting fuzzier.

I still think that, “may” does have a place in everyday usage. If formality and politeness are of utmost importance, you should use “may” to denote permission. So it would be better to say to the waiter at a fancy restaurant, “May I have more water, please?” than “Can I have more water, please?” If you’ve just knocked on a door, you should probably say, “May I come in?”

In short, it’s OK to use “can” instead of “may” if you’re speaking informally, but if you’re being formal or very polite, use “may” when you’re speaking about authorization.

John

Subject verb agreement

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May versus can is an old struggle. Up until recently, may was always associated with permission and can was associated with ability.

As a child at the dinner table, my request of “can I have more of…” was systematically met with a “no you may not” because my Mom considered the question very poor English. And she was correct. Technically. Bu

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