4.Theproblems ofconcordwithacoordinate subject5.Theproblems ofconcord with expressionofquantity assubjectTeaching Procedures:Stage I : Greetings (Imin)Stage II :Revision (8mins)Analyzes thefollowing sentences1.All thetourists seemedpleased2.The children are sleeping.3.The plane is losing altitude4.Imademyself a cupof tea5.Thedirectorsappointedhim salesmanagerStagelI:Presentation (100mins)By subject-verb concord is meant agreement between subject and predicateverb in number.1. Guiding principlesThere are three principles guiding subject-verb concord;they areprinciplesofgrammatical concord,notional concord andproximity.1)Grammatical concordverbThe principle of grammatical concord refers to the rule that theverbshouldmustmatch its subject innumber.Ifthe subjectisplural,thetake the plural form; if, on the other hand,the subject is singular Or is a massnoun, the Verb should take the singular form,e.g.:Both boys have theirown merits.Everygirl comes on time.Mucheffort is wastedotherDifficulties arise when this principle comes into conflict with thetwo principles:principleof notional concord and principle ofproximity.2) Notional concordThe principle of notional concord refers to the rule that the verb can6
6 4. The problems of concord with a coordinate subject 5. The problems of concord with expression of quantity as subject. Teaching Procedures: StageⅠ: Greetings (1min) StageⅡ:Revision (8mins) Analyzes the following sentences: 1. All the tourists seemed pleased. 2.The children are sleeping. 3. The plane is losing altitude. 4. I made myself a cup of tea. 5. The directors appointed him sales manager. StageⅢ: Presentation (100mins) By subject-verb concord is meant agreement between subject and predicate verb in number． 1. Guiding principles There are three principles guiding subject-verb concord ； they are principles of grammatical concord，notional concord and proximity． 1) Grammatical concord The principle of grammatical concord refers to the rule that the verb must match its subject in number. If the subject is plural，the verb should take the plural form；if，on the other hand，the subject is singular Or is a mass noun，the Verb should take the singular form, e.g.： Both boys have their own merits． Every girl comes on time． Much effort is wasted. Difficulties arise when this principle comes into conflict with the other two principles：principle of notional concord and principle of proximity． 2) Notional concord The principle of notional concord refers to the rule that the verb can
sometimes agree with the subject according to the notion of number ratherthan to the actual presence ofthe grammatical markerfor that notion,e.g.:The government has asked the country to decide by a vote.Fifteen milesseems like along walktome3) ProximityThe principle of proximity denotes agreement of the verb withaheadclosely preceding noun phrase in preference to agreement with theof the noun phrase that functions as subject.e.g.:Eithermybrothersor my fatheriscomingNoone excepthis own supporters agreewithhim.Neither Julia nor I am going.Note that grammatical concord is the basic principle, but whenthesubject is realized by a collective noun,a coordinate form or anexpression of quantity，theother two principles will have to be considered.2. Problems of concord with nouns ending in-sThere are quite a few nouns that end ins but which are notcountable. Some of these nouns are treated as singular,some as plural, andsome either as singular or as plural. All this can be dealt with under thefollowing headings.1) Disease and game names ending in-sbutNames of diseases ending in-s are mostly treated as singular,there are a few such names which can be used either as singular or as pluralGame names ending in-s are generally used as singular with theexception of cords which is usuallytreated as plural.2)Subjectnamesending in-icsNames of subjects ending in-jcs are generally singular nouns,but somesuch nouns are treated as plural when used in other sensesthan subjectnames.Compare:7
7 sometimes agree with the subject according t0 the notion of number rather than to the actual presence of the grammatical marker for that notion，e.g.： The government has asked the country to decide by a vote. Fifteen miles seems like a long walk to me. 3) Proximity The principle of proximity denotes agreement of the verb with a closely preceding noun phrase in preference to agreement with the head of the noun phrase that functions as subject. e.g.： Either my brothers or my father is coming． No one except his own supporters agree with him． Neither Julia nor I am going． Note that grammatical concord is the basic principle，but when the subject is realized by a collective noun ， a coordinate form or an expression of quantity，the other two principles will have to be considered． 2. Problems of concord with nouns ending in-s There are quite a few nouns that end in—s but which are not countable．Some of these nouns are treated as singular，some as plural，and some either as singular or as plural. A1l this can be dealt with under the following headings． 1) Disease and game names ending in-s Names of diseases ending in—s are mostly treated as singular， but there are a few such names which can be used either as singular or as plural. Game names ending in—s are generally used as singular with the exception of cords which is usually treated as plural． 2) Subject names ending in-ics Names of subjects ending in-jcs are generally singular nouns, but some such nouns are treated as plural when used in other senses than subject names．Compare：
Acoustics is the science of sound.The acoustics in the new concert hall are faultless.Economics is a required course for all the studentsThe economics of the project are still being considered.3)Geographical names ending in-sGeographical names such as the names of archipelagos,mountainranges, straits and falls aregenerally used as plural,except for afew treatedas singular when used as country names, e.g.:The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of plant andanimal lifeThe Straits of Gibraltar have not lost their strategic importance.In early January1976,theNetherlands was hit by its worst stormsince1953.4)other nouns ending in-sNames for things made of two parts such as scissors, pincers, etc areusually used as plural. But when they are preceded by such unit nouns aspair of and two pair of,the number form of the following verb is generallydetermined by the number marker of the unit noun.Nouns usually taking plural endings such as archives, arms andclothes are generally used as plural with the exception of whereabouts,dramatics,etc whichmay betreated either as plural or as singular.Nouns ending in-ings such as c, clippings, diggings, etc are generallyused as plural with the exception of tidings which can be usedboth ways.There are also nouns such as barracks and headquarters whosesingularand plural number share the same form. These nouns aretreated as pluralwhen used in the plural sense, or vice versa.3.Problems of concord with collective nouns as subjectCollective nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning.The choicebetween grammatical andnotional concord ismostly dictated by usage.I)Collectivenounsusuallyusedasplural8
8 Acousticsis the science of sound． The acoustics in the new concert hall are faultless． Economicsis a required course for all the students． The economics of the project are still being considered． 3) Geographical names ending in-s Geographical names such as the names of archipelagos，mountain ranges，straits and falls are generally used as plural，except for a few treated as singular when used as country names，e.g.： The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of plant and animal life． The Straits of Gibraltar have not lost their strategic importance． In early January 1976, the Netherlands was hit by its worst storm since 1953． 4) other nouns ending in-s Names for things made of two parts such as scissors，pincers，etc are usually used as plural. But when they are preceded by such unit nouns as pair of and two pair of，the number form of the following verb is generally determined by the number marker of the unit noun． Nouns usually taking plural endings such as archives，arms and clothes are generally used as plural with the exception of whereabouts, dramatics, etc which may be treated either as plural or as singular． Nouns ending in-ings such as c，clippings，diggings，etc are generally used as plural with the exception of tidings which can be used both ways． There are also nouns such as barracks and headquarters whose singular and plural number share the same form. These nouns are treated as plural when used in the plural sense，or vice versa． 3. Problems of concord with collective nouns as subject Collective nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning．The choice between grammatical and notional concord is mostly dictated by usage． 1) Collective nouns usually used as plural
These include people,police,cattle,militia,poultry, vermin, etc:The Chinese people are a great people.Domesticcattleprovide us with milk,beefandhides.2)Collectivenouns usuallyused as singularTheseincludefoliage,machinery,equipment,furniture,merchandise,etc:All the merchandisehas arrived indamaged.All the machinery in the factory is made in China.3)Collectivenouns used eitheraspluraloras singulalThere are collective nouns that can be used either as plural or assingular.The choice of the verb form following such nouns depends on theexact meaning of the noun in a specific context.When the noun is used in thesense of a collective asawhole,the verbtakesthe singularform.If,ontheother hand,the noun is used in the sense of the individuals that make thecollective,theverbtakes theplural form.Compare:The anti-crime committee is make its report tomorrow.The committee are divided in opinion about this problem.That group of soldiers is a top-notch fighting unit.That group of soldiers have thebest ratings of individual performance.4)Acommitteeof, etc+plural nounWhen a plural noun is preceded by committee of /a board of /a panel of,the verb usually takes the singular form,e.g.:A committeeof five men andthreewomen isconsider thematterTheboardofdirectors is responsiblefor themanagement ofthecompany.The following part deals with problems of concord with a coordinateconstruction, a quantitative expression, or a nominal clause as subject4.Problems of concord with a coordinate subjectThefollowing rules areto be observed in the case of a coordinate subject.9
9 These include people，police，cattle，militia，poultry, vermin, etc： The Chinese people are a great people． Domestic cattle provide us with milk，beef and hides． 2) Collective nouns usually used as singular These include foliage，machinery，equipment，furniture，merchandise， etc： All the merchandise has arrived undamaged． All the machinery in the factory is made in China． 3) Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular There are collective nouns that can be used either as plural or as singular．The choice of the verb form following such nouns depends on the exact meaning of the noun in a specific context. When the noun is used in the sense of a collective as a whole，the verb takes the singular form. If，on the other hand, the noun is used in the sense of the individuals that make the collective，the verb takes the plural form．Compare： The anti-crime committee is make its report tomorrow． The committee are divided in opinion about this problem． That group of soldiers is a top-notch fighting unit． That group of soldiers have the best ratings of individual performance． 4)A committee of, etc + plural noun When a plural noun is preceded by committee of／a board of／a panel of， the verb usually takes the singular form， e.g.： A committee of five men and three women is consider the matter． The board of directorsis responsible for the management of the company． The following part deals with problems of concord with a coordinate construction，a quantitative expression，or a nominal clause as subject. 4. Problems of concord with a coordinate subject The following rules are to be observed in the case of a coordinate subject．
I) Coordination with “and"or“both...and""pluralCoordination by“and" or“both..and"is usually treated asit iswhen it refers to two Or more than two persons /things,buttreated as singular when it refers to only One person or thing.Compare:BothPauline and BOb have gone fishing on Miramar Lake.Rain,hail and wind have caused an estimated22,000,000damage tocropsandlivestock.The secretary andtreasurer wasabsentfiomthemeetingHamand eggs is agood breakfast.2)Coordination with"or”/"either...or","nor"/"neither...nor",“notonly...butalso"Here the problem of concord is generally dealt with according to theprinciple of proximity.But in informal style, items coordinated by"neither...nor"or“not only...but also"can sometimes be regarded asplural,e.g.:My sisters or my brother is likely tobe at home.Eithermy father or my brothers are comingNeither the players nor the coach was/ (were)overconfident.Not only the switches butalso the oldwiring has / (have)been changed.5. Problems of concord with expressions of quantity as subjectQuantitative expressions fall into two categories:definite andindefinite.) Concord with expression of definite quantity as subjectWhen a definite quantity is regarded as a single unit, the verbtakes the singular form and when used in the sense Of the individualsthat constitute the quantity,the verb takes the plural form.Compare:Hethoughtthat65dollarswasnottoomuchtoask10
10 1) Coordination with “and’’ or “both. and’’ Coordination by “and" or “both. and” is usually treated as plural when it refers to two 0r more than two persons／things，but it is treated as singular when it refers to only One person or thing． Compare： Both Pauline and B0b have gone fishing on Miramar Lake． Rain，hail and wind have caused an estimated $22，000，000 damage to crops and livestock． The secretary and treasurer was absent from the meeting． Ham and eggs is a good breakfast． 2)Coordination with ‘‘or’’／“either.or”，“nor”／“neither. nor”，“not only.but also” Here the problem of concord is generally dealt with according to the principle of proximity ． But in informal style ， items coordinated by ‘‘neither.nor’’ or ‘‘not only. but also’’ can sometimes be regarded as plural，e.g.： My sisters or my brother is likely to be at home． Either my father or my brothers are coming． Neither the players nor the coach was／(were)overconfident． Not only the switches but also the old wiring has／(have)been changed． 5. Problems of concord with expressions of quantity as subject Quantitative expressions fall into two categories: definite and indefinite． 1) Concord with expression of definite quantity as subject When a definite quantity is regarded as a single unit, the verb takes the singular form and when used in the sense Of the individuals that constitute the quantity，the verb takes the plural form. Compare： He thought that 65 dollars was not too much to ask．