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Thread: several basic grammatic questions

  1. #1
    wang.cupid is offline Junior Member
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    Default several basic grammatic questions

    Dear friends, can you answer the following questions for me? If possible, could you please give reasons?

    1. Consider how to deal with the farmlands(or farmland?) left behind by those farmers.

    2. Increasing social welfares for farmers should be put on agenda. (ok?)

    3. No matter how loud and proud these measures, equality should be put top priority. (put or other verbs?)

    4. A large proportion of undergraduates is/are interested in the subject.

    5. 50% of undergraduates were satisfied with social facilities, while 60% of postgraduates these study facilities in bedroom. (Can we omit the same words, like, were satisfied? Because my essay need to use satisfied with for many times.)

    Thanks.
    Last edited by wang.cupid; 18-Jul-2010 at 00:06.

  2. #2
    Gillnetter is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: several basic grammatic questions

    Quote Originally Posted by wang.cupid View Post
    Dear friends, can you answer the following questions for me? If possible, could you please give reasons?

    1. Consider how to deal with the farmlands(or farmland?) left behind by those farmers. Either choice could be used here. Farmland could be understood as being composed of a large area. Farmlands generally means a large area of farms.

    2. Increasing social welfares for farmers should be put on agenda. (ok?)
    Increasing social welfare for farmers should be put on the agenda.
    3. No matter how loud and proud these measures, equality should be put top priority. (put or other verbs?)
    No matter how loud and proud these measures, equality should be put forth as a top priority.
    No matter how loud and proud these measures, equality should be made a top priority.
    4. A large proportion of undergraduates is/are interested in the subject.
    Are - undergraduates are plural.
    5. 50% of undergraduates were satisfied with social facilities, while 60% of postgraduates study facilities in bedroom. (Can we omit the same words, like, were satisfied? Because my essay need to use satisfied with for many times.)
    Fifty percent of undergraduates were satisfied with the social facilities, while 60% of postgraduates used the bedroom to study (??).
    Thanks.
    If you begin a sentence with a number - spell the number.
    As a general rule, if the subject is plural, the verb should be plural also.
    "The street is open - The streets are open"
    wang.cupid likes this.

  3. #3
    SoothingDave is online now Key Member
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    Default Re: several basic grammatic questions

    Not a teacher.

    "Undergraduates" is not the subject of the sentence. "Proportion" is.

    Is "proportion" singular or plural? I would say "proportion is." Some would say "are."

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    wang.cupid is offline Junior Member
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    Default Re: several basic grammatic questions

    Quote Originally Posted by SoothingDave View Post
    Not a teacher.

    "Undergraduates" is not the subject of the sentence. "Proportion" is.

    Is "proportion" singular or plural? I would say "proportion is." Some would say "are."
    Thanks. Does it mean, either is or are is possibly correct?

  5. #5
    Barb_D's Avatar
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    Default Re: several basic grammatic questions

    For me,
    A proportion of plural things = some plural things = are
    A proportion of a non-count noun = some of the non-count noun = is
    kfredson and wang.cupid like this.
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

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    Gillnetter is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: several basic grammatic questions

    Quote Originally Posted by SoothingDave View Post
    Not a teacher.

    "Undergraduates" is not the subject of the sentence. "Proportion" is.

    Is "proportion" singular or plural? I would say "proportion is." Some would say "are."
    That is true (undergraduates), but I was giving general rules.

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