Pospositive limiting modifier.
1. Prepositional of-phrase. (a book of interest, a distance of 3 miles)
2. Attributive restrictive clause (give additional information)
The definite article in its generic function indicates reference to a whole class. (The horse lives for forty years. (names of animals, plants, professions, scientific terms)
Agreement with the simple subject. Pronouns as subjects.
Agreement between the subject and the predicate verb refers to the way the verb has a form appropriate to the number and person of the subject.
SIMPLE SUBJECT Some nouns are invariable both in form and in number meaning.
l. Invariable singular nouns take a singular predicate. Here belong nouns denoting various fluids: water, oil; solids: ice, bread, paper; gases: air, smoke; particles: dirt, grass, hair, rice; abstract notions: advice, evidence, information, progress, news; whole groups made of similar objects: cash, change, money, clothing, equipment, furniture, luggage; names of games: billiards, darts; names of diseases: measles, mumps.
2. Invariable plural nouns take a plural verb. Here belong (nouns of multitude): cattle, clergy, gentry, police; objects consisting of two parts: braces, glasses, pants, scales, scissors, shorts, tongs; some proper nouns: the Hebrides, the Highlands, the Midlands and a miscellaneous nouns most of which end in ~s: antics, archives, ashes, belongings clothes, contents, earnings, goods, outskirts, particulars (= information), premises (= building), riches, savings, surroundings, thanks, wages,
PRONOUN SUBJECT 1. universal pronoun (everybody, everyone, either, everything, each), negative pronoun (nobody, no one, neither), indefinite pronoun (someone, somebody, anybody, anything) or pronominal phrases — the verb is singular. 2. The pronoun both as well as phrases with it is logically (and grammatically) plural.3.The form of the verb in case of a subject containing or expressed by the universal all or interrogative pronouns: who, what, which, as well as those used as connectors, depends onwhat is implied or named in the previous part of the sentence and is, in fact, the notional subject for the predicate verb.The girl who lives next door is my sister. The girls who live next door are my sisters.
Agreement of the predicate with phrasal and homogeneous subjects.
Agreement between the subject and the predicate verb refers to the way the verb has a form appropriate to the number and person of the subject. So the first step is to identify the subject of the sentence.
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PHRASAL SUBJECTS 1.Subjects expresed by quotations, names or titles usually take a singular predicate verb. 'Fathers and Sons' is the most popular of Turgenev's novels. 2. Numerical expressions of addition, subtraction, division as a rule take a singular predicate. Two and four is six. 3. If a phrasal subject contains expressions of quantity the basic rule holds true — agreement with the head word. A number of people were walking the number of pages is 4. With the expressions of time, money, weight, distance denoting measurements, amounts, quantities or after per cent
HOMOGENEOUS SUBJECTS , i.e. subjects naming two or more items.
1. When a subject has two or more items joined by and or both ... and the plural verb is used. (A yellow and a red car were damaged - A yellow and red car was damaged). 2. When homogeneous subjects are joined by or, either ...or, neither ... nor, not only ... but also, the verb agrees with the last (Neither you nor I am right.). 3.The proximity rule holds true for sentences with inversion, when the subject follows the predicate. The predicator verb agrees with the item which comes first (the one which is closest to the verb). There is a table and some chairs in the room. —There are_ some chairs and a table in the room. 4.Homogeneous subjects joined by as well as, as much as, rather than, more than are followed by the predicate verb which agrees with the item that comes first. My sister as well as my parents is a teacher. My parents as well as my sister are teachers.
The use of articles with material nouns.
Most material nouns do not have plural forms and are never used with the indefinite article.
1. When names of material have generic reference they are lined without any article. This is the case with material nouns is referring to the whole class (He sat there for a long time, drinking cup after cup ofstrong black tea.)
2. In specific use material nouns take the definite article. (Pass me the salt, please.)
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