I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in an article titled “Colorless, Tasteless but Not Dangerous” by Dwight Garner in The New York Times (November 15, 2010). People who do gravitate toward these sort of things, he warns, sotto voce, might be “the wrong kind of white person.” Can someone clarify if the … Read more
The other day, my father and I were expecting my brothers to come home. Upon hearing a car enter the driveway, my father said, "Your brothers are here." When I looked at the door, I could see that it was actually my sister who had arrived, and not my brothers, so I responded, She’s not … Read more
After the therapy, eight children (43%) became able to crawl/move on their back. Or should I use “on their backs”? Singular because each child only has one back, or plural because we’re dealing with eight backs? Answer Plural, because we are, in fact, dealing with eight little backs. And a back is a back, no … Read more
Many individuals lost their individual life. or Many individuals list their individual lives. Each person has one life right? Answer In the simplest sentences, the object agrees in number with the subject. He is a student. They are students. However, the object does not need to agree with the number of the subject and the … Read more
Sometimes I get confused over how and when we should use plurals. For example, should we say: They are the only one who is capable of doing this Or They are the only one who are capable of doing this When to use is/are? Why? Answer “they are … who is..” jars to me. I’d … Read more
