Some grammar questions

amother

Mustard

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 5:01 pm

What's the correct verb in each of these sentences and why? If you are experienced in subject-verb agreement rules, please use them to explain.

* A boy and girl makes/make a couple.

* The teacher and every student goes/go downstairs in the event of a fire drill.

cbg

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 5:03 pm

amother wrote:

Make
Go
The and makes the subject plural
I think
Now I'm not sure

amother

Mustard

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 5:06 pm

cbg wrote:

Make
Go
The and makes the subject plural

But there are exceptions to that:
a) if the two things are written as one item
b) if the compound subject is preceded by each or every

Hence, my questions. Smile

5*Mom

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 5:24 pm

amother wrote:

But there are exceptions to that:
a) if the two things are written as one item
b) if the compound subject is preceded by each or every

Hence, my questions. Smile

I agree with make and go.

a) can you give an example? I don't think this applies to your sentence.
b) If your sentence had been "Every teacher and student" it would be "goes" but in your actual sentence, it's only the second subject that is preceded by "every" and not the entire compound subject so it's plural.

amother

Mustard

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 6:14 pm

5*Mom wrote:

a) Horse and buggy is the method of transportation in that country.
or String beans and sesame chicken is my Dad's favorite meal.

The verb is singular, not because the predicate nominative (method, meal) is singular, but because in the given sentence the compound subject is referred to as one item, as in the combination of these two things.

b) That was my first thought as well. Thanks.

amother

Mustard

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 6:15 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

make and go. the verb applies to more than one in each sentence.

It's not so simple, as I clarified in my second post.

fbcmom

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 6:18 pm

Sentence one the verb would be make. Compound subject joined by and=plural
sentence two the verb would be. Go. Each and every call for singular verb

mummiedearest

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 8:41 pm

5*Mom wrote:

agreed.

amother

Mustard

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 9:20 pm

fbcmom wrote:

Sentence one the verb would be make. Compound subject joined by and=plural
sentence two the verb would be. Go. Each and every call for singular verb

You're not clear on that last point. Go is plural.

amother

Mustard

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 9:21 pm

Can someone explain to me why in the first sentence it's not considered as one item, the combination of these two being singular?

Laiya

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 10:11 pm

amother wrote:

Can someone explain to me why in the first sentence it's not considered as one item, the combination of these two being singular?

Fun questions!
Here's the best I can explain it
Grammar Girl quote: As Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage explains, “When the nouns form ‘a collective idea’ or ‘a oneness of idea,’ the singular verb is appropriate” (1). - See more at: http://www.quickanddirtytips.c......dpuf

So the question really is, is "a boy and a girl" a collective idea?

I don't think so. Simply starting the sentence with "A boy and a girl", one would not necessarily think that they are a unit.

Ex. A boy and a girl are each very different.

Vs. Bread and butter makes a sandwich.

amother

Mustard

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 10:14 pm

Laiya wrote:

Thanks for the link.

Laiya

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 10:48 pm

5*Mom wrote:

I don't think this is correct. The pronoun "every" takes a singular verb, regardless of the existence of another subject before it.

rofa

Wed, Feb 17 2016, 11:13 pm

"A boy and a girl" is a compound subject not a plural subject (ex. Boys).

Most compound subjects take plural verbs unless the the compound subject forms as singular collective idea (ex. spaghetti and meatballs), in which case it would take a singular verb.
Ex. Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite dish.

5*Mom

Thu, Feb 18 2016, 2:51 am

Laiya wrote:

I don't think this is correct. The pronoun "every" takes a singular verb, regardless of the existence of another subject before it.

No, then you'd be ignoring the first subject completely.

5*Mom

Thu, Feb 18 2016, 2:53 am

Laiya wrote:

Good explanation, however the first sentence says, "A boy and girl" not "A boy and a girl" which may make it a collective idea like this: "A boy-and-girl." Hmm.

Laiya

Thu, Feb 18 2016, 8:12 am

5*Mom wrote:

No, then you'd be ignoring the first subject completely.

Still. It's a rule specific to the word "every".

Try changing the verb to test.

Ex. The teacher and every student IS busy. You wouldn't say, The teacher and every student ARE busy.

That being said, it is an awkward phrasing. Better to say, Every class and its teacher goes....

pickle321

Thu, Feb 18 2016, 8:26 am

Wrong about the chicken and string beans, it is because meal makes it singular. If you were talk about favorite food it would be string beans and chicken are my dads favorite foods.

princessleah

Thu, Feb 18 2016, 8:53 am

I would say "make" and "go" but agree the phrasing is awkward in each case.
Think about by replacing the common nouns with proper nouns.
Would you say: ''Bossie and Moshe is a great couple"? or "are a great couple?"

In the second sentence, if you took out the teacher, you would say "every student goes downstairs" and you would say "the teacher goes downstairs" but combining them makes it plural. "The teacher and teacher's assistant go downstairs." "Mrs. Schwartz and Mrs. Weiss go downstairs."
If you wrote "goes" it refers back to "every student" so I don't think it's egregious.