Chapter 17 nouns indicating possession and compound subjects

CHAPTER 17 CHAPTER 17 NOUNS INDICATING POSSESSION AND COMPOUND SUBJECTS 1 Ways in which possession is indicated a The ending ''''s One way in which English nouns indicate possession is by means of the en[.]

CHAPTER 17.  NOUNS INDICATING POSSESSION AND COMPOUND

SUBJECTS

1 Ways in which possession is indicated

a The ending 's

One way in which English nouns indicate possession is by means of the ending 's.

e.g the boy's hat

      Sally's bicycle

In the above examples, the ending 's indicates that the hat is possessed by the boy, and that the bicycle is possessed by Sally The English ending 's is related to the German possessive ending es.

The ending 's is most often used with nouns referring to human beings or animals.

e.g the child's toy

      the bird's song

Nouns formed from two or more words joined by hyphens indicate possession by adding 's to the

last word

e.g the runner-up's score

      the sister-in-law's children

The ending 's may also used with nouns referring to non-living things which are sometimes

thought of as if they were living, such as ships, countries, corporations, and the earth

e.g the ship's bell

      Italy's exports

      the city's parks

      the earth's surface

The ending 's may also be used with nouns referring to units of time.

e.g a day's work

      a week's delay

In addition, the ending 's is used with nouns referring to non-living things in a few idioms such

as the following:

e.g a stone's throw away

      your money's worth

It should be noted that the ending 's is used only with singular and plural nouns which do not end

in s.

e.g the girl's hat

      the children's books

      the men's jackets

b The ending s'

For plural nouns which end in s, the ending 's is not used Instead, an apostrophe: ' is placed after the s which indicates a plural The following examples illustrate how the plural nouns students and Smiths indicate possession.

e.g the students' books

      the Smiths' house

In these examples, the apostrophes indicate that the books belong to the students, and that the house belongs to the Smiths

It should be noted that both 's and s' are pronounced like s Thus, in spoken English, there is no distinction between a singular noun with the ending 's and a plural noun ending in s' For

instance, the phrase the student's books is pronounced in the same way as the phrase the

students' books.

In American English, singular nouns ending in s can also indicate possession by means of a final

apostrophe

e.g James' scarf

      Dickens' novels

In these examples, a final apostrophe is used with the singular proper nouns James and Dickens

to indicate possession

c Phrases beginning with Of

When the possessor is not a human being or animal, possession is often indicated by the use of a

phrase beginning with of following the name of the thing possessed A phrase beginning with of

is most commonly used when the thing possessed is an abstract quality, such as size This means

of indicating possession is related to the method used in French, and may be the result of the influence of French on the English language

e.g the size of the portrait

      the color of the carpet

      the beginning of the story

d Two consecutive nouns

When the possessor and the thing possessed are both concrete objects, possession can often be indicated by placing the noun naming the possessor before the noun naming the thing possessed e.g the car radio

      the tree trunk

      the kitchen sink

      the onion skin

These examples indicate that the radio belongs to the car, the trunk belongs to the tree, the sink belongs to the kitchen, and the skin belongs to the onion This type of construction will be discussed further in the section on Defining Adjectives

2 Agreement of verbs with collective nouns and compound subjects

The following rules apply in formal English, but may or may not be observed in informal

English

a Collective nouns

Collective nouns are singular nouns which refer to a group The words audience, class, family, flock, group and team are examples of collective nouns.

A collective noun takes a singular verb when the group referred to acts as a whole or is

considered as a whole

e.g Our team has won the game

      That family is well-known

In the first example, the singular verb has won is used, since the collective noun team refers to a group acting as a whole In the second example, the singular verb is is used, since the collective noun family refers to a group being considered as a whole.

However, a collective noun takes a plural verb when the members of the group are considered to

be acting individually

e.g The flock were running, playing and searching for fresh grass

      The audience were throwing flowers and jewelry onto the stage

In the first example, the use of the plural verb were running indicates that the members of the

flock are considered to be acting individually Similarly, in the second example, the use of the

plural verb were throwing indicates that the members of the audience are considered to be

acting individually

b Amounts considered as a whole

A noun subject naming a unit of currency or a unit of measurement takes a singular verb when the amount referred to is being considered as a whole

e.g Ten dollars is my best offer

      Five minutes is all that is required

      Two years is a long time

In each of the above examples, the amount of money or length of time referred to by the subject

is being considered as a whole Thus, in each case a singular verb, is, is used.

c Compound subjects

When the subject of a verb consists of two or more nouns joined by and, or or nor, the subject can be referred to as a compound subject In the following examples, the compound subjects are

underlined

e.g Cars and buses were filling the streets

      One apple or one pear is needed

      Neither ducks nor pigeons were in the yard

i Compound subjects with And

A compound subject consisting of two nouns joined by the word and usually takes a plural verb

In the following examples, the compound subjects consist of various combinations of singular

and plural nouns joined by the word and In all of the examples, the compound subject with and

takes a plural verb

e.g Red and white are my favorite colors

      One egg and one lemon are required to make the cake

      One teacher and twenty students are present

      Roses and tulips are blooming in the garden

However, a compound subject with and takes a singular verb when the subject as a whole refers

to only one thing, or is considered as referring to only one thing

e.g Our vice-president and treasurer is a person everyone likes

      Strawberries and cream is my favorite dessert

In the first example, the use of the singular verb is indicates that the compound subject vice-president and treasurer refers to a single person In the second example, the use of the singular verb is indicates that the compound subject strawberries and cream is being considered as

referring to a single type of dessert

Likewise, a compound subject with and takes a singular verb when the subject is the title of a

book or the name of a company

e.g War and Peace is a long book

      Johnson and Sons is a company which sells musical instruments

In each of the above examples a singular verb, is, is used, since the compound subject is the

name of a single thing

ii Compound subjects with Or or Nor

When a compound subject consists of two or more nouns joined by the word or or nor, the verb

agrees with the noun nearest the verb

In the following examples the verbs are singular, since the nouns nearest the verbs are singular e.g A bus or a streetcar passes this point every two minutes

      Neither my friend nor his brother knows what to do

      Cookies or cake is available

      Neither sardines nor salmon was served

In the following examples the verbs are plural, since the nouns nearest the verbs are plural e.g Sandals or slippers are suitable

      Neither pencils nor pens were provided

      Cake or cookies are available

      Neither salmon nor sardines were served

When a compound subject consists of one singular noun and one plural noun joined by or or nor, it is sometimes considered advisable to place the plural noun directly before the verb, so

that the verb will be plural

e.g A coat or two sweaters are needed

      Neither the teacher nor the students were there

In these examples, the plural nouns sweaters and teachers have been placed immediately before

the verbs, so that the verbs will be plural

The following table summarizes the rules for the agreement of verbs with compound subjects:

Agreement of Verbs with Compound Subjects

  Nouns referring to a single thing   and   singular

  Nouns referring to two or more things   and   plural

  Singular noun nearest the verb   or/nor   singular

  Plural noun nearest the verb   or/nor   plural

d Nouns followed by descriptive phrases

Two or more nouns can form a compound subject when joined by and, or or nor However,

when a noun subject is followed by a descriptive phrase containing another noun, the two nouns

do not form a compound subject In this case, the verb must agree with the noun subject, not with the noun in the descriptive phrase

In the following examples, the subjects of the verbs are printed in bold type, and the descriptive phrases following the subjects are underlined

e.g One book, larger than the others, was lying open on the desk.

The leader of the students was an excellent speaker.

My friend, as well as her sisters, is here.

In the above examples, the verbs was lying, was and is are singular, to agree with the singular subjects book, leader and friend The descriptive phrases larger than the others, of the

students and as well as her sisters have no effect on which form of the verb is used.