Word usage

Question

I came across an interesting question in a book asking this.

Would you still be in favor of the death penalty if you knew 1 in 100 victims is innocent?

Isn't it supposed to be suspects instead of victims?

And please take a look of this.

She was not nor has she ever been fired from any job,big or small.

Is this correct? What does it mean? I can't get the idea. Why do we need to use "nor has she ever been"?

Thanks a lot!!!

Dokterjokkebrok · Accepted Answer

alda1119Would you still be in favor of the death penalty if you knew 1 in 100 victims is innocent?

Isn't it supposed to be suspects instead of victims?

I would opt for 'suspect' or 'convicts' too, unless the author means to imply that, in his mind, all people
receiving the death penalty are victims of the legal system concerned.

Kind regards

Dokterjokkebrok

Ivanhr · Answer

Isn't it supposed to be suspects instead of victims?

Yes, I think it should be suspects. If, however, the sentence was executed on the convicts then it should have been was and not is, I think.

She was not nor has she ever been fired from any job,big or small.

I guess the sentence means
She was not fired then nor has she ever been fired from any job, big or small.

Obviously the original sentence lacks the fired then part or something else that would make sense.

Dunfermline · Answer

Would you still be in favor of the death penalty if you knew 1 in 100 victims is innocent?

Favor is US spelling. victims is fine if it refers to those actually receiving the death penalty. Suspects refers to people who have not yet been convicted.

Would you still be in favour of the death penalty if you knew 1 in 100 victims ARE innocent?

She was not nor has she ever been fired from any job,big or small.

This means she did not lose her job, nor has she ever lost a job. The big or small refers to the size of the job and is used for emphasis, although it is unecessary.

Ivanhr · Answer

DunfermlineWould you still be in favour of the death penalty if you knew 1 in 100 victims ARE innocent?

It can't be 'are innocent'. The sentence is about one person being innocent rather than all 100 persons being innocent.

Ferdis · Answer

She was not nor has she ever been fired from any job,big or small.

To start with, this sentence really needs commas around the interruption:

She was not, nor has she ever been, fired from any job, big or small.

But what does this mean, really? The sentence has two parallel parts going on:

1) She was not fired from any job, big or small.
2) Nor has she ever been fired from any job, big or small.

The problem is that number (1) does not make that much sense, unless it answers the question "Was she fired from her small job last week, but not her big job?"

IvanhrI guess the sentence means

She was not fired then, nor has she ever been fired from any job, big or small.

Obviously the original sentence lacks the fired then part or something else that would make sense.

This is likely the best solution. Don't forget the comma, though; 'nor' is a coordinating conjunction.

Anonymous · Answer

If it's a competition of egos, then I am out. Sorry to all the users who require help.

1 in 100 victims are innocent, the plural use of victims allows the use of 'are'. Otherwise, 1 in 100 victims was innocent. To use 'is' - as you suggest, would have to read 1 victim in 100 is innocent.

BarbaraPA · Answer

AnonymousIf it's a competition of egos, then I am out. Sorry to all the users who require help.

1 in 100 victims are innocent, the plural use of victims allows the use of 'are'. Otherwise, 1 in 100 victims was innocent. To use 'is' - as you suggest, would have to read 1 victim in 100 is innocent.

I'm sorry you seem to think this is about egos. It's not.

This is a commonly confused area. People have a tendency to make the verb agree with the closest noun, which is "victims." (I'll ignore the victims/convicts issue.) However, the subject is one, not victims. Out of every 100 victims, one is innocent.

If I understand you correctly, you suggest "was" because you assume the death penalty has already been carried out? If we rephrase it to say "one in 100 people death row is innocent" would you agree with that?

Anonymous · Answer

I assume we are saying 1 in 100 people executed is innocent, not 1 in 100 prisoners. You say 'suspects' which implies people not even convicted.

I get these questions sent to me, but if someone is answering them online then there is no longer any need for me to reply.

BarbaraPA · Answer

AnonymousI get these questions sent to me, but if someone is answering them online then there is no longer any need for me to reply.

I'm not sure what source you are receiving these questions from; you're posting anonymously here so I assume that it's not people who are members of English Forums.

We always welcome new folks who are able to help out our learners. Someone who offers an alternate view or even a correction (and that happens to all of us) is not attacking you and there is no "ego" involved.

I'm sorry, but I simply don't understand what you are upset about.

Dunfermline · Answer

1 in 100 convicted prisoners are innocent. I use 'are' because 1 in 100 is more than one person therefore it is not used in its singular sense here. 1 does not refer to one person but to many people ie 1 in 100. These people referred to are innocent. Don't be so simplistic in your outlook and use language creatively - it's not really a useful medium for pedants.

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