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Plursl/Singular

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Plursl/Singular

by mals24 » Sat Nov 22, 2008 11:43 am
Should the verb in the following sentence be singular or plural.

Time and tide waits/wait for none

The horse and carriage is/are at the door.

Explain your answers.
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Re: Plursl/Singular

by iamcste » Sat Nov 22, 2008 12:35 pm
mals24 wrote:Should the verb in the following sentence be singular or plural.

Time and tide waits/wait for none

The horse and carriage is/are at the door.

Explain your answers.

compound plural subjects always take plural verbs

But there is an exception.

if other word relates to the previous one ( 2 different words for the same thing or synonms) consider singular

hence waits and is
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by mals24 » Sat Nov 22, 2008 12:44 pm
iamcste

Thanks for the reply. If you don't mind can you elaborate a bit more on this point.
if other word relates to the previous one
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by iamcste » Sat Nov 22, 2008 12:52 pm
mals24 wrote:iamcste

Thanks for the reply. If you don't mind can you elaborate a bit more on this point.
if other word relates to the previous one
tide is related to time

Tide is nothing but period of time ( low tide and high tide)

so, you can see the other word " tide " is related to the previous one "time"

Carriage and horse form one unit
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by mals24 » Sat Nov 22, 2008 12:59 pm
Ohh okk finally made sense

If the 2 nouns are related to each other (logically), we will use a singular verb.

Thanks a ton iamcste :)
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by parallel_chase » Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:04 pm
Here is another one.

The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by "and" refer to the same person or thing.

Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.
No rest for the Wicked....
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by niraj_a » Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:04 pm
mals

do you have any SCs that deal with this? itd be nice to see this in action.
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by mals24 » Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:27 pm
Exception to the 'and' rule:

1. If the 2 items are related.
2. If the items refer to the same person or thing.

Perfect I'm finally understanding this exception to the 'and' rule.

Thanks guys :)

@ niraj

Sorry niraj but I don't have a SC question which tests this exception. I found this rule in a grammar book so I kind of got confused. If I come across such a SC question I'll post it in the forum for sure.
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by gmat009 » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:24 pm
iamcste wrote:
mals24 wrote:iamcste

Thanks for the reply. If you don't mind can you elaborate a bit more on this point.
if other word relates to the previous one
tide is related to time

Tide is nothing but period of time ( low tide and high tide)

so, you can see the other word " tide " is related to the previous one "time"

Carriage and horse form one unit
What do you think about this sentence............

The skill and the precision of the Anasazi, ancient
inhabitants of the Southwest, in measuring the
movements of the Sun and Moon is evidenced not
only at Chaco Canyon but at a number of other sites.

(A) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon is evidenced not only at
(B) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon are evidenced not only at
(C) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon is evidenced at not only
(D) to measure the movements of the Sun and Moon
is evidenced at not only
(E) to measure the movements of the Sun and Moon
are evidenced not only at

"Skill and precision" is one unit or not.
What would we prefer "is" or "are"
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by iamcste » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:51 pm
gmat009 wrote:
iamcste wrote:
mals24 wrote:iamcste

Thanks for the reply. If you don't mind can you elaborate a bit more on this point.
if other word relates to the previous one
tide is related to time

Tide is nothing but period of time ( low tide and high tide)

so, you can see the other word " tide " is related to the previous one "time"

Carriage and horse form one unit
What do you think about this sentence............

The skill and the precision of the Anasazi, ancient
inhabitants of the Southwest, in measuring the
movements of the Sun and Moon is evidenced not
only at Chaco Canyon but at a number of other sites.

(A) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon is evidenced not only at
(B) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon are evidenced not only at
(C) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon is evidenced at not only
(D) to measure the movements of the Sun and Moon
is evidenced at not only
(E) to measure the movements of the Sun and Moon
are evidenced not only at

"Skill and precision" is one unit or not.
What would we prefer "is" or "are"
"Is"

( albeit -also is missing)
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by gmat009 » Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:37 pm
iamcste wrote:
gmat009 wrote:
iamcste wrote:
mals24 wrote:iamcste

Thanks for the reply. If you don't mind can you elaborate a bit more on this point.
if other word relates to the previous one
tide is related to time

Tide is nothing but period of time ( low tide and high tide)

so, you can see the other word " tide " is related to the previous one "time"

Carriage and horse form one unit
What do you think about this sentence............

The skill and the precision of the Anasazi, ancient
inhabitants of the Southwest, in measuring the
movements of the Sun and Moon is evidenced not
only at Chaco Canyon but at a number of other sites.

(A) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon is evidenced not only at
(B) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon are evidenced not only at
(C) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon is evidenced at not only
(D) to measure the movements of the Sun and Moon
is evidenced at not only
(E) to measure the movements of the Sun and Moon
are evidenced not only at

"Skill and precision" is one unit or not.
What would we prefer "is" or "are"
"Is"

( albeit -also is missing)
Ans is "are"
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by mals24 » Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:21 am
I think in GMATLAND if you see two items separated by 'and' just use the plural verb.

So I guess in GMATLAND the sentence will be

Time and tide WAIT for none.

Sheesh GMAT should make its own grammar books!!!
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by iamcste » Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:53 am
CITI29 wrote:The skill and the precision of the Anasazi, ancient
inhabitants of the Southwest, in measuring the
movements of the Sun and Moon is evidenced not
only at Chaco Canyon but at a number of other sites.

(A) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon is evidenced not only at
(B) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon are evidenced not only at
(C) in measuring the movements of the Sun and
Moon is evidenced at not only
(D) to measure the movements of the Sun and Moon
is evidenced at not only
(E) to measure the movements of the Sun and Moon
are evidenced not only at


source is 'gmat paper test'...ans is 'd'

https://www.beatthegmat.com/is-or-are-t13834.html

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by mals24 » Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:10 am
source is 'gmat paper test'...ans is 'd'
okies the answer to the anasazi one is actually B.

check this out
https://www.beatthegmat.com/paper-test-e ... ht=anasazi
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by iamcste » Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:12 am
Same question, multiple ans..Gang let us sort this out....
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