renbri
Member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2014
- Member Type
- Interested in Language
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- England
- Current Location
- Australia
I've just acquired the Cambridge Grammar of English and was rather shocked to read, on page 1 of the introduction, this sentence:
These aspects of the arrangement of things in sentences is referred to as syntax.
It's been a long time since I studied any grammar but surely the subject here is "aspects", which is plural (as confirmed by the adjectival "These") and therefore the verb should be the plural form "are". Granted that this links to the singular "syntax" which is awkward. Personally I'd be inclined to recast the sentence into something like "Syntax is the name given to... etc" but I'd like to hear your comment on the original sentence.
These aspects of the arrangement of things in sentences is referred to as syntax.
It's been a long time since I studied any grammar but surely the subject here is "aspects", which is plural (as confirmed by the adjectival "These") and therefore the verb should be the plural form "are". Granted that this links to the singular "syntax" which is awkward. Personally I'd be inclined to recast the sentence into something like "Syntax is the name given to... etc" but I'd like to hear your comment on the original sentence.