The A-Z of English Grammar: Half Correct, Half Wrong
Bilingual Bookman: Chinglish or Genuine English? Traditional Chinese or Earth English?
By Author: Su Chung-Lun
1. Half of the Money: Gone or gone?💰 Half of the money is gone. Half of the money are not the correct choices. The verb should agree with the subject, which is half (singular).
Photo: AdobeStock
Note: Half of … when it's used as a subject, the verb and the following noun or pronoun should be in the same number. E.g.,
Half of the story is interesting.
Half of the stories are interesting.
2. Many a Man: Walked or walked?👣Many a man has travelled this road. The correct choice is many a man has walked, not many a men have walked. Although many a is structurally a plural, it should be followed by a singular noun, and the verb should also be singular.
3. The Enemy: Surrendered or surrendered?💣 The enemy was forced to surrender. Correct choice is The enemy was forced to surrender. Enemy is a collective noun, and when used as the subject, the verb is usually plural. However, in this case, the enemy can be treated as a singular subject being forced to surrender, so the verb is singular.
4. Neither: To Blame or To blame?🙅♂️Neither of them is to blame. The correct choice is Neither of them is to blame, not Neither of them are to blame. Neither is a singular subject, so the verb should be singular.
5. Somebody: Forgot or forgot?🧑🤝🧑 Somebody has forgotten to turn off the gas. The correct choice is Somebody has forgotten, not Somebody have forgotten. The subject is singular, so the verb should also be singular.
Exercises
A. This Story half is amusing.
Half of the story _________interesting.
- is 2. are 3. has 4. have
B. They both don't like swimming.
Neither of them _________swimming.
- do not like 2. does not like 3. like 4. likes
Answers:
A.1 B. 4
Correction: Last week's (4/21) answer for question A has been revised. The correct answer is 1.
The article is provided by Shulian Publishing Company:
www.bookman.com.tw
Su Chung-Lun - Taiwan Translation Studies Association former Director and Taipei National University of Education Translation Research Institute adjunct professor; editor of "Walk and Read: Flowery Language," "English Correct or Incorrect," "Century Virus: Essential Preventive English Knowledge and Vocabulary"...etc. Member of the National Education Research Institute Vocabulary Review Committee; primary research interests include translation, terminology, and dictionary compilation, and has led plant and cultural tours for decades. He has also been invited to lecture at foreign universities on plant and cultural tours.
- The English language's correct use of subject-verb agreement is half understandable, while half remains confusing.
- AdobeStock provides high-quality images for stories on food-and-drink, lifestyle, fashion-and-beauty, home-and-garden, and cooking.
- In English, half the battle is knowing the difference between singular and plural verbs in certain contexts.
- semiconductor processing technology is half art, half science, requiring a delicate balance of precision and creativity.
- Next week's menu will feature half a dozen new recipes for Italian dishes, from pastas to desserts.
