1

Scissors, pliers, socks Normally ? A (large/small) number of seems to function as a sort of preiphrastic determiner– much like a lot of– so that the head word is the noun after the determiner. The number of does not seem to function as a preiphrastic determiner; therefore, the head word of the subject is number, which is singular. 2

Notice adjective toxic. So we see that fractions and percentages—similar to numbers-- often seem to function like preiphrastic pre-determiners. e.g., Ten of the students are absent today. Ten (foolish) students are absent today. So it is the collective noun that determines s-v agreement. This is further evidence that fractions and percentages are determiners. 3

Not very important. The/a majority of students are serious about their studies. A minority of students waste their time. 4

Not important. Note that numbers function like determiners– they come before adjectives. 1,000 jungle-covered miles is a long distance. 10 additional miles are to be added . . . . 5

Quantifiers are a sub-category of determiner sometimes called pre-determiners because they can be followed by a determiner such as the and they can be followed by adjective(s), but not preceded by adjectives. These quantifiers are periphrastic (or phrasal) quantifiers since they employ more than one word. Periphrastic avoids the complications of compound. 6

That is, as in all cases if one takes a descriptive stance, usage takes precedence over so-called “rules”. That is, the “rules” are simply a reflection of usage. Some of you who took the phonology course last term may remember the presentations on the chapters of Bybee’s book Phonology and language use, which emphasized the role of usage in explaining features of English phonology. 7

Again, usage, more than “rules” seems to be the controlling factor here. And, since usage may vary, the “rule” may vary. Hey, life and language are complicated. People do not always follow “rules” even when there are sever consequences. 8

Ditto for what I said on previous slides. Notice the ? 9

10

The Copula & Subject-Verb Agreement Part 2 ENGLISH 5050: English Syntax and Morphology All quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from Chapter 4 of The Grammar Book, 2nd edition. Robert F. van Trieste, Ph.D.

Rules: 2 Nouns occurring in sets of two “take singular when the noun pair is present but take the plural when pair is absent.” A pair of trousers is on the bed. Todd’s trousers are on the bed. Number “A number of normally takes the plural, while the number of normally takes the singular.” A number of students have dropped that course. The number of students in this school is 2,000.

Rules: 3 Fractions and percentages “take a singular verb inflection when modifying a noncount noun and the plural verb inflection when they modify a plural noun; either the singular or the plural verb inflection may be used when they modify a collective noun, depending on the speaker’s meaning.” One half of the toxic waste has escaped. Sixty-six percent of the students are satisfied with the class. Ten percent of the population of Egypt is Christian. Ten percent of the population of Egypt are Christians.

Rules: 4 majority / minority “abstract or generic meaning that refers to superiority of numbers . . . is always singular.” The great majority is helpless. “A specific meaning where one or more sets has a numerical plurality (majority) or numerical inferiority (minority) . . . like collectives . . . can be either singular or plural.” The majority was/were determined to press its/their victory.

Rules: 5 Plural unit words of distance, money, and time “take the singular verb inflection when one entity is implied but a plural verb inflection when more than one entity is encoded in the subject.” one entity 1,000 miles is a long distance. more than one entity 10 miles are to be added to the expressway.

Rules: 6 Arithmetical operations “take the singular” One plus one is two. Quantifiers all (of), a lot of, lots of, and plenty of “take singular verb agreement if the subject head noun is noncount but plural verb agreement if the subject head noun is plural.” A lot of nonsense was published about the incident. A lot of people were present when it happened.

Usage versus Rules “Not all cases of subject-verb agreement can be described as exclusively form-based or meaning-based. Some seem more a matter of usage and convention.” none “when none refers to a noncount noun, the inflection is uncontroversially singular.” noncount None of the toxic waste has escaped. “But when none refers to a plural noun . . . usage seems to be . . . divided.” None of the shoes that she has tried fit/fits her..

all all (of the) “If the noun that all modifies is a noncount subject, then subject-verb agreement is singular.” All (of the) water is polluted. “If all modifies a countable plural subject noun, subject-verb agreement is plural” All (of the) students have arrived. all (of) “A problem arises . . . when all is used to qualify a collective noun subject. Theoretically, one should be able to use either singular or plural subject-verb agreement in such cases.” All (of) my family is/are present. “The presence or absence of the preposition of seems to have an effect on subject-verb agreement.”

each or every(one) each or every(one) “When the quantified subject noun is singular . . . the subject-verb agreement is always singular.” Each student has a textbook. ?Each student has his/their textbook. “When the quantified noun refers to a definite plural set, there can be problems since the quantifiers are grammatically singular yet the set they are modifying is notionally plural.” Every one of these athletes run/runs the mile in four minutes. Each of these athletes run/runs the mile in four minutes “The traditional prescriptive rule maintains that singular subject-verb agreement applies in such cases . . .”

End