Latter & Former + plural nouns

[Lucas [V.D.]]

Hi all

May I ask you to have a look at the below sentence:


They have advised that we should always start counting the timeframe from the EDD of the order and disregard any scans, as the latter just acknowledge that the data/info for the parcel has been transmitted to the carrier and do not imply a transit/geographical movement.


'The latter' here refers to scans, a plural noun. Hence, any verbs would have to be conjugated according to the plural form, no? I was pretty sure but now I'm a bit confused, as a well-known software (a grammar & spelling checker) flagged this a wrong and conjugated the verbs to the singular form.

Any insights would be really appreciated

Many thanks,

Luca

 

[GoesStation]

The software probably took "the latter" to be singular because of its form. Your sentence was correct as written, although some people might not like the use of "data/info" as singular.

You shouldn't rely on grammar recommendations from software.

 

[jutfrank]

I'm sure GoesStation is right—the software is programmed to recognise the latter as referring to a singular noun phrase, which is reasonable because it almost always is.

I too stuttered when reading the sentence, first thinking that the verb had the wrong agreement, since my brain is programmed in a similar way. I'd suggest replacing the latter with scans, to be clear.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi all.

[STRIKE][/STRIKE] Don't try to make your own emoticons. If you really need to use one, click on the icon in the toolbar and choose one from the list.

May I ask you to have a look at the sentence below? [STRIKE]sentence:[/STRIKE] The natural word order here is "the sentence below". You started with "May I ask you" so you need a question mark at the end.


They have advised that we should always start counting the timeframe from the EDD of the order and disregard any scans, as the latter just acknowledge that the data/info for the parcel has been transmitted to the carrier and do not imply a transit/geographical movement.


'The latter' here refers to scans, a plural noun. Hence, any verbs would have to be conjugated according to the plural form, [STRIKE]no[/STRIKE] wouldn't they? We don't use "no" as a tag question. It's used in many European languages but not English.

I was pretty sure but now I'm a bit confused, as a well-known piece of software (a grammar [STRIKE]&[/STRIKE] and spelling checker) flagged this as wrong and conjugated the verbs to the singular form.

Any insights would be really appreciated. [STRIKE][/STRIKE] Again, don't try to make your own emoticons.

[STRIKE]Many thanks.[/STRIKE] Unnecessary. Thank us after we help you, by clicking on the Thank button.

[STRIKE]Luca[/STRIKE] Unnecessary. We can see your username and that is how we will refer to you.

Please note my corrections (in red) and comments (in blue) above.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The text is right: acknowledge, because scans is plural.

 

[jutfrank]

You're right, and for the right reason. It should say acknowledges.

So am I reading the sentence wrong? It occurs to me now that I don't quite understand what it means.

Does the latter actually refer to 'disregarding the scans'? If so, the singular agreement is right, yes.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

So am I reading the sentence wrong? It occurs to me now that I don't quite understand what it means.

Does the latter actually refer to 'disregarding the scans'? If so, the singular agreement is right, yes.

Ugh! You're right! I'll go back and correct my comment.

I should get a ticket for reading too fast. Thanks!

. . . There. Fixed it. Thanks again.

 

[Tdol]

Screen blindspots can set in and lead you to reading something completely the wrong way.