Questions

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by jack

4. What does #6 and #7 mean? (This is wrong and it should be 'What do #6 and #7 mean?)

Sentence 4. is OK for spoken English. It's short for, What does #6 and what does #7 mean? The speaker omits the second 'what does' because s/he assumes it's redundant, unnecessary. You could also try, "What do #6 and #7 mean? What do they mean?"

5. What are the subject and verb? (This is wrong? Why? The subject is not 'subject and verb?

The verb is plural (are), so the subject should also be plural:

"What are the subjects and what are the verbs?" (OK)
"What are the subjects and the verbs?" (OK)

Omission
"What is the subject and (what is) the verb?" (OK)
"What's the subject and (what's the) verb?" (OK)

2. and 3. below are incorrect. 'when the store is closed' is an embedded clause (i.e, it's not the main clause), so the subject (the store) and the verb (is) should not be inverted:

1. Do you know when the store is closed? (OK)
2. Do you know when is the store closed? (Not OK)
3. Do you know when is the store is closed? (Not OK)

[Mister Micawber]

I see no reason why both (4) and (5) should not have plural verbs to match the compound subjects here. Nevertheless, the singular is often considered acceptable, presuming that the speaker is considering one item at a time, in sequence: 'On the table there's a pencil, a notebook, and two coffee cups.'

'1. Do you know when the store is closed?' -- is the only grammatically acceptable option. C'mon, Jack-- you know that (3) is wrong-- why did you submit it?


PS: We gotta stop meeting like this, Cassy-- people will start to talk.

[jack]

'1. Do you know when the store is closed?' -- is the only grammatically acceptable option. C'mon, Jack-- you know that (3) is wrong-- why did you submit it?

THe other ones sound right but I am somewhat not sure if it is right. Sorry, Miss.

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Mister Micawber

PS: We gotta stop meeting like this, Cassy-- people will start to talk.

Chuckles

Originally Posted by Mister Micawber

C'mon, Jack-- you know that (3) is wrong-- why did you submit it?

(3) is a good example. I see it as the learner trying to gain a clearer understanding by testing function and distribution.

[Mister Micawber]

Two 'is'es?!

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Mister Micawber

Two 'is'es?!

Well, where one might see two is's:

3. Do you know when is the store is closed?

another might see a learner testing for embedded structures:

*Do you know when is the store (that) is closed.

[Mister Micawber]

Not a learner at Jack's level. I expect students to do a bit of thinking beforehand.

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Mister Micawber

I expect students to do a bit of thinking beforehand.

Expectations. You got 'em, I got 'em--heck, we all got 'em. That's what dreams are made of.

[jack]

3. is incorrect with 'toys'. Try, ...toys and all that stuff...

Okay, I went back to this one and reviewed it. I still don't get this one:
3. The toys of all that stuff are leaving you with little real value. (I still don't understand why I can't use 'toys'? For eg. 'I have nine pieces of stuff.")

Try, ...expenses for..

Same with this one:
The expenses of all that stuff are leaving you with little real value.

The problem is this: the preposition 'of' expresses belongs to, so if 'toys' belongs to 'stuff', then it's a part of the stuff, so use the preposition 'in'.

Can you re-explain this to me, I don't really get it. Thanks.

A series of blunders compound... (Talking about a General Fact)

Should this be 'A series of blunders compounds..' not 'compound'?

You could also try, "What do #6 and #7 mean? What do they mean?"

1. What do #6 and #7 mean? (Subject: #6 and #7, right? Verb=do
2. What are the subjects and verbs mean? (Okay, I know this is right) But what about this:
3. What do #6s and #7s mean? (Isn't 'do' plural? Like 'are'? When I use 'are' 'subject' is 'subjects'. When I use 'do' '#6' is not '#6s'?)

[Casiopea]

3. The toys of all that stuff (Not OK)
toys = the stuff. Toys are the stuff. The stuff is made up of items, and those items are toys. They are inside the stuff, so use 'in'. Stuff does not have toys, so don't use 'of'.

4. The expenses of all that stuff (OK)
=> stuff has an expense

Pick the one you like:
5a. A series of blunders compounds... (OK)
5b. A series of blunders compound... (OK)

1. What do #6 and #7 mean? (OK; What do they mean?)
2. What are the subjects and verbs mean? (Not OK; Try, What do...?)
3. What do #6s and #7s mean? (Not OK; Try, the #6s and the #7s) Count