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Victo Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
SV Agreement
1 or 2? I can't determine the true subject. I'm leaning toward #1.
(1) It showed that there IS an insufficient amount of baggers (if any at all) to work cohesively on the front end to fulfill the 2:1 bagger ratio mandate.
(2) It showed that there ARE an insufficient amount of baggers (if any at all) to work cohesively on the front end to fulfill the 2:1 bagger ratio mandate.
Thanks,
Victo
(1) It showed that there IS an insufficient amount of baggers (if any at all) to work cohesively on the front end to fulfill the 2:1 bagger ratio mandate.
(2) It showed that there ARE an insufficient amount of baggers (if any at all) to work cohesively on the front end to fulfill the 2:1 bagger ratio mandate.
Thanks,
Victo
Top answer
(1) is correct, but you often hear (2). If you change the order, it becomes more obvious: It showed that the number of baggers is insufficient. The subject of the "that" clause in this case is "number," but that's not what you mean.
- (1) is correct, but you often hear (2).
- If you change the order, it becomes more obvious: It showed that the number of baggers is insufficient.
- The subject of the "that" clause in this case is "number," but that's not what you mean.
- This doesn't work with the rest of the sentence.
- It's the baggers who work.
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7 Answers
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(1) is correct, but you often hear (2).
If you change the order, it becomes more obvious: It showed that the number of baggers is insufficient. The subject of the "that" clause in this case is "number," but that's not what you mean. This doesn't work with the rest of the sentence. It's the baggers who work.
It showed that there are too few baggers to
If you change the order, it becomes more obvious: It showed that the number of baggers is insufficient. The subject of the "that" clause in this case is "number," but that's not what you mean. This doesn't work with the rest of the sentence. It's the baggers who work.
It showed that there are too few baggers to
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As Avangi has demonstrated, 'number' is right for countable 'baggers', not 'amount' (for uncountables). Here are the accepted concords:
A number of people are sleeping in the park.
The number of people there is increasing.
You will hear other permutations, but for writing, use the above.
A number of people are sleeping in the park.
The number of people there is increasing.
You will hear other permutations, but for writing, use the above.
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You need
It showed that there ARE an insufficient NUMBER of baggers ...
CJ
It showed that there ARE an insufficient NUMBER of baggers ...
CJ
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You need
It showed that there ARE an insufficient NUMBER of baggers ...
Hi, Jim,
Could you weigh in on Victo's question about the "true subject" of this sentence?
(I presume he's inquiring about the "that" clause.)
(He might even be wondering about the
It showed that there ARE an insufficient NUMBER of baggers ...
Hi, Jim,
Could you weigh in on Victo's question about the "true subject" of this sentence?
(I presume he's inquiring about the "that" clause.)
(He might even be wondering about the
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AvangiCould you weigh in on Victo's question about the "true subject" of this sentence?I don't have a fix on the definition of "true subject", but within the that-clause there are three candidates for the role of clausal subject: there, number, and baggers.
1. For the purposes of subject-verb inversion when forming a question,
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Thank you very much.
The more I learn about grammar, the harder it becomes to get a good night's sleep.
The more I learn about grammar, the harder it becomes to get a good night's sleep.
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