scholarly journals Subject-Verb Agreement: A Corpus-Based Study of the Collective Nouns Majority and Minority

2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-281
Author(s):  
박채희
Keyword(s):  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Collective Nouns

scholarly journals Concord patterns with collective nouns in Hong Kong English. With illustrative material from the International Corpus of English (Hong Kong component)

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
May Lai-Yin Wong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
British English ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Hong Kong English ◽  
Illustrative Material ◽  
Collective Nouns

This corpus-based study reports on both a quantitative and qualitative account of the use of collective nouns in Hong Kong English, with particular reference to subject-verb agreement/concord patterns. Singular concord was found to be the preferred pattern among thirty-five collective nouns under interrogation in the ICE-HK corpus. It is argued that the preference for singular concord serves as a signal that Hong Kong English might be less conservative than British English in converging towards the norm of using singular concord with collective nouns across the globe.

Subject and Verb

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Hart
Keyword(s):  
Verb Agreement ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Collective Nouns

This chapter explains the subject-verb agreement rule for sentences. It gives situations in which it is difficult to recognize the subject in a sentence and then moves on to problems relating to collective nouns. The chapter also explores how the structure of questions is different from that of statements.

Collective nouns and language change

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAGNUS LEVIN
Keyword(s):  
Language Change ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Strong Preference ◽  
British English ◽  
Cd Rom ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Lexical Diffusion ◽  
Collective Nouns

This study concerns the changing and variable agreement patterns with twenty-one low-frequency collective nouns (e.g. trio) in British English. The data come from the 1990 and 2000 CD-ROM editions of The Independent. The token frequencies of nouns do not appear to affect the preference for singular verb agreement. There are, however, clear differences between noun types, as is typical for lexical diffusion. Most nouns have developed a strong preference for singular verb agreement, some remain variable, and some prefer the plural. Many of the agreement patterns for individual nouns can be motivated with reference to the characteristics of the nouns rather than to the semantics of the verbs. This investigation found no evidence that singular verb agreement, which is argued in this study to be the unmarked alternative, is generally on the increase. Rather it seems that nouns which prefer plural verbs continue to move towards plural agreement.

Plurals

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Gregoline
Keyword(s):  
American English ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Collective Nouns

The plurals of most nouns are formed by adding -s or -es. However, English is irregular enough that it pays to consult a dictionary for most forms.Collective nouns may take either singular or plural verbs, depending on whether the word refers to the group as a unit or to its members as individuals. In American English, most nouns naming a group regarded as a unit are treated as singular. (See also 7.8.5, Grammar, Subject-Verb Agreement, Collective Nouns.)...

Grammar

2020 ◽  
pp. 423-446
Author(s):  
Stacy Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Parallel Construction ◽  
Writing Errors ◽  
Collective Nouns

The Grammar chapter of the 11th edition of the AMA Manual of Style focuses on how to avoid common grammatical and writing errors. Topics include often-encountered dilemmas: who vs whom, that vs which, the number vs a number, a vs an. Guidance on frequent stumbling blocks such as double negatives, subject-verb agreement, false singulars and false plurals, collective nouns, compound subjects, misplaced modifiers, verbal phrase danglers, and parallel construction is illustrated with updated examples. The discussion of verbs considers voice, mood, and tense. Avoidance of idioms, colloquialisms, and slang, as well as euphemisms and clichés, is advised in material intended for an academic audience. A subsection on grammar considerations in social media has been added, as well as inclusion of they as a singular pronoun. A list of additional readings and general references concludes the chapter.

Pragmatic versus Morphological/Syntactic Criteria for Language Referrals

1980 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Damico ◽  
John W. Oller
Keyword(s):  
Grade Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Remedial Programs ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Communicative Effectiveness

Two methods of identifying language disordered children are examined. Traditional approaches require attention to relatively superficial morphological and surface syntactic criteria, such as, noun-verb agreement, tense marking, pluralization. More recently, however, language testers and others have turned to pragmatic criteria focussing on deeper aspects of meaning and communicative effectiveness, such as, general fluency, topic maintenance, specificity of referring terms. In this study, 54 regular K-5 teachers in two Albuquerque schools serving 1212 children were assigned on a roughly matched basis to one of two groups. Group S received in-service training using traditional surface criteria for referrals, while Group P received similar in-service training with pragmatic criteria. All referrals from both groups were reevaluated by a panel of judges following the state determined procedures for assignment to remedial programs. Teachers who were taught to use pragmatic criteria in identifying language disordered children identified significantly more children and were more often correct in their identification than teachers taught to use syntactic criteria. Both groups identified significantly fewer children as the grade level increased.

Narrative Language Markers of Arabic Language Development and Impairment

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 3472-3487
Author(s):  
Natalia V. Rakhlin ◽  
Nan Li ◽  
Abdullah Aljughaiman ◽  
Elena L. Grigorenko
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Standardized Measures ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Omission Errors

Purpose We examined indices of narrative microstructure as metrics of language development and impairment in Arabic-speaking children. We examined their age sensitivity, correlations with standardized measures, and ability to differentiate children with average language and language impairment. Method We collected story narratives from 177 children (54.2% boys) between 3.08 and 10.92 years old ( M = 6.25, SD = 1.67) divided into six age bands. Each child also received standardized measures of spoken language (Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary, Sentence Imitation, and Pseudoword Repetition). Several narrative indices of microstructure were examined in each age band. Children were divided into (suspected) developmental language disorder and typical language groups using the standardized test scores and compared on the narrative indicators. Sensitivity and specificity of the narrative indicators that showed group differences were calculated. Results The measures that showed age sensitivity included subject omission error rate, number of object clitics, correct use of subject–verb agreement, and mean length of utterance in words. The developmental language disorder group scored higher on subject omission errors (Cohen's d = 0.55) and lower on correct use of subject–verb agreement (Cohen's d = 0.48) than the typical language group. The threshold for impaired performance with the highest combination of specificity and sensitivity was 35th percentile. Conclusions Several indices of narrative microstructure appear to be valid metrics for documenting language development in children acquiring Gulf Arabic. Subject omission errors and correct use of subject–verb agreement differentiate children with typical and atypical levels of language development.

Production of Subject-Verb Agreement in Spanish as a Second Language

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Nicol ◽  
Delia Greth
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Semantic Variables ◽  
Advanced Proficiency

Abstract. In this paper, we report the results of a study of English speakers who have learned Spanish as a second language. All were late learners who have achieved near- advanced proficiency in Spanish. The focus of the research is on the production of subject-verb agreement errors and the factors that influence the incidence of such errors. There is some evidence that English and Spanish subject-verb agreement differ in susceptibility to interference from different types of variables; specifically, it has been reported that Spanish speakers show a greater influence of semantic factors in their implementation of subject-verb agreement ( Vigliocco, Butterworth, & Garrett, 1996 ). In our study, all participants were tested in English (L1) and Spanish (L2). Results indicate nearly identical error patterns: these speakers show no greater influence of semantic variables in the computation of agreement when they are speaking Spanish than when they are speaking English.

Subject Verb Agreement In Arabic, Spanish, And English:, Typological View

2020 ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
مروان الجراح ◽  
محمد ريان ◽  
مالك جمال زريقات ◽  
عقاب يوسف الشواشرة
Keyword(s):  
Verb Agreement
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