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Question about "of" clauses preceding subjects

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Question about "of" clauses preceding subjects

by Stockmoose16 » Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:58 am
How do you go about determining whether a subject is plural or singular if it is preceded by an "of" clause:

i.e. A new species of sparrow has/(have) been found?
-- would this be plural because of 'species' or singular because of 'sparrow'

What about this sentence:

"The pattern of changes that have occurred in human DNA over the millennia indicate the possibility that everyone alive today might be descended from a single female ancestor who lived in Africa sometime between 140,000 and 280,000 years ago."
--Should it be "indicate" or "indicates", since "the pattern of" (singular) precedes changes (plural)
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by mksreeram » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:47 am
The better way is to eliminate "of". It is called as middleman.

I would suggest read Manhattan SC Guide. It clearly explains this concept.

A New Species of sparrow --> take only species
The pattern of changes --> here pattern need to be eliminated as the changes would be the subject for the verb "indicate". Pattern doesn't indicates only changes can indicate.

only place where I look at the of construction is when used as "the number of" or "A number of" where the number decides singular or plural.

Hope I could clarify. Read Manhattan SC Guide if you are not clear. below are some examples.

Singular Subjects
The voice of Singers is pleasant to ears.
The pollution of automobiles has increased a lot in past few years.

Plural Subjects
The paintings of my friend are very beautiful. (eventhough friend is singular you need are here)
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by Stockmoose16 » Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:14 am
mksreeram wrote:The better way is to eliminate "of". It is called as middleman.

I would suggest read Manhattan SC Guide. It clearly explains this concept.

A New Species of sparrow --> take only species
The pattern of changes --> here pattern need to be eliminated as the changes would be the subject for the verb "indicate". Pattern doesn't indicates only changes can indicate.[/b]
I don't understand. You started off this response by saying to get rid of the "of" clause. In the first example, you used the word preceding the word "of" to determine whether the verb is singular or plural. Then, in the second example you did the opposite, using the word AFTER "of" to determine whether the verb is plural/singular. You've just confused me even more.
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by Stockmoose16 » Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:24 am
mksreeram wrote:The better way is to eliminate "of". It is called as middleman.

The pattern of changes --> here pattern need to be eliminated as the changes would be the subject for the verb "indicate". Pattern doesn't indicates only changes can indicate.

on
I just looked up the answer to this question, and your advice is WRONG. The subject is PATTERN (singular) not changes (plural). See below:

According to scientists at the University of California, the pattern of changes that have occurred in human DNA over the millennia indicate the possibility that everyone alive today might be descended from a single female ancestor who lived in Africa sometime between 140,000 and 280,000 years ago.
(A) indicate the possibility that everyone alive today might be descended from a single female ancestor who
(B) indicate that everyone alive today might possibly be a descendant of a single female ancestor who had
(C) may indicate that everyone alive today has descended from a single female ancestor who had
(D) indicates that everyone alive today may be a descendant of a single female ancestor who
(E) indicates that everyone alive today might be a descendant from a single female ancestor who

... THE OA is (D)... but by your explanation, it should be A or B, since the other answers use "indicates" instead of "indicate"...

Can someone help explain this issue.
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by uptowngirl92 » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:46 pm
６． According to scientists at the University of California, the pattern of changes that have occurred in human DNA over the millennia indicate the possibility that everyone alive today might be descended from a single female ancestor who lived in Africa sometime between 140,000 and 280,000 years ago.
(A) indicate the possibility that everyone alive today might be descended from a single female ancestor who
(B) indicate that everyone alive today might possibly be a descendant of a single female ancestor who had
(C) may indicate that everyone alive today has descended from a single female ancestor who had
(D) indicates that everyone alive today may be a descendant of a single female ancestor who
(E) indicates that everyone alive today might be a descendant from a single female ancestor who

OA:[spoiler=]D[/spoiler]

First of,S-V agreement.
S-pattern>singular,therefore indicateS should be used.
A,B,C>eliminate.
D,E remains.

Queries:
1. descendent of/from.Are'nt both correct?
2.may/might.For a future event which defines certanity?May?
3.Subject of the sentence is pattern.Agreed.Can someone explain WHY?While identifying a subject we ask the question "Who did the action"..Is'nt the answer "scientists"??
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