SUB-VERB AGREEMENT: BASIC STATEMENTS

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poonam197
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Topic: SUB-VERB AGREEMENT: BASIC STATEMENTS
PostFri Jan 02, 2009 9:52 am
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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Hey... I am working on my basics of sub-verb agreement. Can someone explain the answers. Thanks!

1) Her partner and business associate, Jan Holder, distribute/ distributes the daily mail.

The correct answer is distributes

2) The staff is/are eating at their desks to make Tuesday's news deadline.

The correct answer is is

3) The group of store managers have/ has begun to arrive, one by one.

The correct answer is have

4) Both -- either a second or a subsequent call -- are/is considered to be a follow-up call.

The correct answer is are
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poonam197
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PostSun Jan 04, 2009 5:21 am
Please... Can someone help ???
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dipla
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PostWed Jan 14, 2009 1:21 pm
1) Her partner and business associate, Jan Holder, distribute/ distributes the daily mail.

Her partner and business associate - How many people are we talking about here ? Only 1. Because Jan holder is her( can be anyone) partner as well as her business associate. So distributes is right.

2) The staff is/are eating at their desks to make Tuesday's news deadline.

Staff is singular. 'at' is going to change the number. Something like
US Army is returning to their (not his or her) homes.

3) The group of store managers have/ has begun to arrive, one by one.
Dont know

4) Both -- either a second or a subsequent call -- are/is considered to be a follow-up call.

General idiom is "both this and this" which uses plural. But in this case, we are not using and because the author wants to emphasize on either. But still both is using two entities and is so plural.
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uptowngirl92
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PostThu Oct 15, 2009 2:28 am
Msjor problem identifying subjects so thought will look into the sunject/verb thing from scratch.

Quote:
1) Her partner and business associate, Jan Holder, distribute/ distributes the daily mail.
her partner AND buss.asso>>does'nt AND signify plural>>distribute??

Quote:
The group of store managers have/ has begun to arrive, one by one.
group>>singular>>has>>??

Quote:
Both -- either a second or a subsequent call -- are/is considered to be a follow-up call.
no idea:(
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jchristopher7
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PostThu Oct 15, 2009 1:00 pm
@ uptowngirl
1) You might want to shuffle the sentence so you realize that the sentence refers to one person.

Consider:
Jan Holder, her partner and business associate, distribute/distributes the daily mail.

Jan Holder is one person and one person DISTRIBUTES.

2) This sentence refers to one noun, "group." Group is a noun that is similar to "number." For instance "A group of..." or "A number of..." the subject remains singular.

3) "Both" by definition is more than one, thus "are" is correct. Try not to get distracted by the words in between the hyphens. The hyphens create a modifier effect.

I hope this helps.

CJ
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GmatVerbal
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PostMon Nov 16, 2009 11:36 pm
1) Her partner and business associate, Jan Holder, distribute/ distributes the daily mail.

The correct answer is distributes --- Her partener and Business associate -- is the same person
like: the President and CEO of the company is visiting our office.

2) The staff is/are eating at their desks to make Tuesday's news deadline.

---> I think are is correct. It has to match 'their' not used in collective meaning

ex: the staff have advanced degrees where as staff is efficient.

I also think US army is returning to their homes is not correct. US army is returning to its home. or
Members of the army are returning to their homes.




3) The group of store managers have/ has begun to arrive, one by one.

The correct answer is have ---> Here again group is being treated individually --> they are coming one by one.

With collective nouns meaning is important.

4) Both -- either a second or a subsequent call -- are/is considered to be a follow-up call.

The correct answer is are --> Both -> is subject and plural.


Disclaimer: I am also a student and not an expert.
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