Originally Posted by jack
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)
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.
THe other ones sound right but I am somewhat not sure if it is right. Sorry, Miss.'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?![]()
Last edited by jack; 05-Nov-2004 at 09:12.
ChucklesOriginally Posted by Mister Micawber
(3) is a good example.Originally Posted by Mister Micawber
I see it as the learner trying to gain a clearer understanding by testing function and distribution.
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Two 'is'es?!
Originally Posted by Mister Micawber
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.
Not a learner at Jack's level. 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.Originally Posted by Mister Micawber
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Okay, I went back to this one and reviewed it. I still don't get this one:3. is incorrect with 'toys'. Try, ...toys and all that stuff...
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.")
Same with this one:Try, ...expenses for..
The expenses of all that stuff are leaving you with little real value.
Can you re-explain this to me, I don't really get it. Thanks.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'.
Should this be 'A series of blunders compounds..' not 'compound'?A series of blunders compound... (Talking about a General Fact)
1. What do #6 and #7 mean? (Subject: #6 and #7, right? Verb=doYou could also try, "What do #6 and #7 mean? What do they mean?"
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'?)
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![]()