0
Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Which tense is correct?
I wrote a paper in my grad class, and my professor corrected my grammar in the following sentance:
StartFragment>"A myriad of emotions were experienced throughout the course of the IPL question answering processes, from frustration to confidence."
His correction stated were, should have been was. Is someone able to explain why it should have written, "A myriad of emotions was...."?
To help form a frame of reference, here is a portion from the paragraph:
StartFragment>
"There were several challenges that needed to be overcome. The majority, however, were attributed to naiveté to The Internet Public Library’s strict format adherence standards, source evaluation experience, and question availability. A myriad of emotions were experienced throughout the course of the IPL question answering processes, from frustration to confidence. A few IPL improvements could be the creation of a reference interview team to review patron’s submissions for clarity, and the inclusion of student posted queries in order to increase the availability of questions."
EndFragment>
StartFragment>"A myriad of emotions were experienced throughout the course of the IPL question answering processes, from frustration to confidence."
His correction stated were, should have been was. Is someone able to explain why it should have written, "A myriad of emotions was...."?
To help form a frame of reference, here is a portion from the paragraph:
StartFragment>
"There were several challenges that needed to be overcome. The majority, however, were attributed to naiveté to The Internet Public Library’s strict format adherence standards, source evaluation experience, and question availability. A myriad of emotions were experienced throughout the course of the IPL question answering processes, from frustration to confidence. A few IPL improvements could be the creation of a reference interview team to review patron’s submissions for clarity, and the inclusion of student posted queries in order to increase the availability of questions."
EndFragment>
Top answer
Your professor believes that agreement with a myriad of Xs should be with a myriad , and you believe that the agreement should be with Xs . My instinct would be to treat it the same as a number of Xs , which agrees with Xs, so I would have phrased it just as you have done, if that's any consolation to you. A number of emotions were experienced is correct.
- Your professor believes that agreement with a myriad of Xs should be with a myriad , and you believe that the agreement should be with Xs .
- My instinct would be to treat it the same as a number of Xs , which agrees with Xs, so I would have phrased it just as you have done, if that's any consolation to you.
- A number of emotions were experienced is correct.
- A great number of emotions were experienced is correct.
- myriad means a great number, so A myriad of emotions were experienced should also be correct, the way I see it.
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
Your professor believes that agreement with a myriad of Xs should be with a myriad, and you believe that the agreement should be with Xs.
My instinct would be to treat it the same as a number of Xs, which agrees with Xs, so I would have phrased it just as you have done, if that's any consolation to you.
My instinct would be to treat it the same as a number of Xs, which agrees with Xs, so I would have phrased it just as you have done, if that's any consolation to you.
0
Related Questions