HOW TO MAKE CORRECT SENTENCES (Part 5)


HOW TO MAKE CORRECT SENTENCES (Part 5)

            Having talked much about How to Make Correct 

Sentences on this  platform, let us conclude the series, with Part 5, 

in this article.

 Rule 15:                       When gerunds are used singularly as the subject of a sentence, they go with singular verb; but when they are more than one, and are linked by and, they go with plural verb.
            Gerunds are words that are formed or made from verbs ending with –ing,
and which are used like nouns in sentences.  This rule fittingly applies because one gerund in a sentence, is singular; but when they are more than one, and are linked with and, they take plural form.
Examples:
1.                 Standing alone in the middle of a fast-flowing stream for a long time, is dangerous.
2.                 Eating and talking noisily are against table etiquette.
3.                 Writing and reading are the hobbies of our new supervisor.
4.                 Is it true that sitting from morning till evening causes muscular problems?
5.                  Driving and texting are to be done at different times, not simultaneously.
6.                 Crocheting has been Susan’s pastime for more than three decades.
Rule 16:             Collective nouns like senate, class, crowd, herd, congregation, assembly, congress etc, usually go with singular verbs.
          This rule applies because such collective nouns are regarded and treated as singular entities, even though they are constituted by several members or made up by a number of individuals.
Examples:
1.     The senate has, after much debate, passed the controversial bill.
2.     The herd was stampeded by the blast of the bomb.
3.     Congress is to meet tomorrow at the Town Hall, by 12 noon.
4.     There was an assembly of final-year students of this school at the Football pitch this morning.
5.     There was a large crowd at the entrance of the local government secretariat last night.
6.     College Road Congregation holds public meeting at 11.00am on Sundays.

Rule 17:             If two infinitives are separated by and, they take the plural form of the verb.
          Infinitives are uninflected form of verbs which are usually preceded by ‘to’ or which come before ‘to’.   In simpler terms, infinitives are the basic form of verbs that usually follow 'to'.   We have Bare Infinitives and Split Infinitives (which are too complex to be explained under the rule being discussed).
Examples:
1.     To dance and to beat drum requires great skills
2.     To eat and to wash are not to be done simultaneously.
3.      To drive and to text messages are two engagements which require separate attention.
4.     To study and to play music are two endeavours which many students cannot handle together.
5.     To school and to raise children are two responsibilities which should be taken at different periods of one’s life.
6.     To calculate figures and to watch television are incompatible.


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