Is the verb after the phrase ‘number of’ singular or plural?
A simple rule is that if ‘the’ precedes the phrase ‘number of’, then the verb after the phrase is singular. For example,
n The number of teachers attending the national seminar on ‘Language and Technology’ this year is only 35.
If ‘a’ precedes the phrase ‘number of’, then the verb after the phrase is plural. For example,
n A number of research scholars have been selected for the scholarship.
2. Which of the following is correct?
* It is I.
* It is me.
According to the traditional grammar rule when a pronoun follows a linking verb (is, was, are, were, etc), it should be in the subject case as in the following examples:
* It is I.
* Who called you? It was she.
* Who gave you the information? It was he.
* Who cares? It is we.
In her book Who is I, Patricia O’Connor says that almost everyone says, “It is me,” and that the “It is I” construction is almost extinct.
3. What’s the difference between a ‘complement’ and an ‘adverbial’?
A complement is a word or a group of words that completes a sentence. In the English language, a small number of verbs are followed not by an object but by a complement. The verbs include: to be, to appear, to become, and to seem.
* John appears ….
* Mary seems….
* Peter is…
The above are incomplete sentences and each sentence requires a word or a group of words to become complete.
* John appears good.
* Mary seems to be the right candidate.
* Peter is handsome.
In sentences containing the linking verbs (be, appear, seem, become) the subject and the complement refer to the same person. Adverbials provide information that answer these questions: When? How long? Where? Why? How? How much? Even without adverbials sentences are complete and make sense.
* I met your brother yesterday
* I’ll mark the answer scripts after two days n
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk