grammar and usage

7/17/2019 Grammar and Usage

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UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERASCOLLEGE OF LAW

Legal English I

GRAMMAR AND USAGE

‘When I hear the hypercritical quarreling about grammar and style, the position of the particles,etc., stretching or contracting every speaker to certain rules of theirs… I see that they forget that the first requisite and rule is that expression shall be vital and natural, as much as the

voice of a brute or an interjection first of all, mother tongue! and last of all, artificial or father tongue. "ssentially your truest poetic sentence is as free and la#less as a lamb$s bleat.%

&'enry (avid )horeau*

+rammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason.% &-ichard henevix

)rench*

‘It$s not #ise to violate the rules until you kno# ho# to observe them.% &)./. "liot*

I. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

A. A singula su!"#$% %a&#s a singula '#!( )*il# a +lual su!"#$% %a&#s a +lual '#!.

)he complainant, as #ell as the #itnesses, #as present.)he complainants, as #ell as the judge, #ere present.)o settle for less than victim$s hospitali0ation expenses is not possible.1our granting our requests is most appreciated.

N,%#s

1. The following are generally considered singular, and take singular verbs:

"ach, either, neither, one, someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, somebody, much,anybody, everyone

2. The following are plural and take plural verbs:

2oth, fe#, many, several

3. The following may be singular or plural depending on the meaning intended:

3ll, most, some, every, none, any, half, more&i.e. singular #hen taken as a unit, e.g. 3ll is calm,!

plural #hen the members are considered separately, e.g. 3ll are going to thebeach.*

4. con!unctive"compound sub!ect is usually plural.

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)he plaintiff and the defendant agree to refer the matter to mediation.What your sister #ants and #hat my brother #ants are poles apart.

#. $%ach& may be plural, if the sub!ect is plural rather than a compound of singular nouns orpronouns.

)he speakers each have three minutes to explain their positions.

'. d!ectives used as a noun to represent a class (class ad!ectives) are plural. *nlike acollective noun which represents the whole and taken singularly, a collective ad!ectiverepresents no singular entity, but rather the assemblage of individual members, hence,taken as plural sub!ects.

)he beautiful are a class by themselves.)he co#ard die before they die.

+. lural"form nouns are taken in the plural sense- plural verbs are therefore used.

)he scales of justice tip for both rich and poor.World War II pliers #ere used during the extraction.1our pants &slippers4eyeglasses4scissors* are colorful.

B. REOSITIONAL HRASES

repositional phrases that come in between the sub!ect and the verb do not affect sub!ect"verbagreement.

5ne of my friends is attending the party. 3 panel consisting of three doctors, t#o university professors, and four la#yers is

going to conduct the intervie#.5nly one in three is expected to oppose the motion.

3 faction of the 67 member board is questioning the report.

C. DEENDENT CLAUSES

There may be separate noun"verb agreements in dependent clauses but these should notaffect the agreement of the main sub!ect and verb.

8ot one among the senior citizens of the ity #ho are taking the medicine iscomplaining.

D. COMOUND BUT REFERRING TO ONE THING

ompound words that refer to one thing is singular and take singular verbs.

-ice and fish is his favorite breakfast.2arong )agalog and black pants is the official attire.

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)o convince clients to settle and make peace #ith his neighbors is my life$s goal.

E. SINGULAR COMOUNDS THAT AEAR LURAL

/hen a singular sub!ect is !oined by prepositions to other nouns or pronouns (e.g. as well as,along with, together with, but not, etc.), the sub!ect remains singular taking a singular verb.

)he (ean, together #ith other faculty members, continues to encourage students tostudy alternative dispute resolution.

)he school president, not to mention the other members of the board, is of theopinion that la# students should all have office internships.

F. COMOUND SUBJECTS MODIFIED BY /EACH0 OR /EVERY0 IS SINGULAR.

"very 3ida, 9orna, and :e in this institution is a candidate."ach and every 3ida, 9orna, and :e is great.

G. SINGULAR MEASUREMENTS BUT LURAL IN AEARANCE

0ass noun phrases of measurements as well as names and titles in plural form are singular.

)hree blocks is great for exercise.:ifteen days is the company$s annual vacation leave.;aramount ;ictures is my favorite studio.)hree hundred pesos is all I ask.)he 9ast <ohicans is a good movie.)he =nited 8ations has only a fe# large states.

H. COLLECTIVE NOUNS

ollective nouns are singular if the action is collective but plural if the action is individual.%ample of collective nouns: staff, committee, band, personnel, etc.

)he team deliberates on its strategy. &collective, hence, singular*)he team have their individual differences. &individual, hence, plural*

I. NAMES OF SCIENCE OR THE RACTICAL ALICATION

/hen the name of a science ending in $ics& is used to refer to the discipline itself (e.g.economics, mathematics, statistics), the same is singular- when the practical application of thefield is referred, the same becomes plural.

"conomics is his favorite subject.

)he economics of studying abroad force :ilipino students to become frugal.

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J. DISJUNCTIVE COMOUNDS

f the sub!ect is a dis!unctive compound (!oined by $or& or $nor&), the verb should agree with theelement of the compound closest to the verb.

8either the prosecutors nor the accused is ready for trial.8either the accused nor the prosecutors are ready for trial."ither he or I am taking the examination tomorro#."ither I or he, but not both, is taking the examination tomorro#. >

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