Grammatical Points

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Grammatical Points

• Sequence of Tenses

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The Governing Verb
In a newspaper, the prime verb in a sentence is
generally in the past tense because newspapers
tend to report recent history. For precision, the
other verbs in a sentence should relate logically
to the tense of that governing verb. This helps
the reader keep track of the chronology.
Consider, for example, the difference between
They dined when the countess arrived and They had
dined when the countess arrived. With such a
governing verb, events in the immediate past
should ordinarily be reported in the past tense.
She said she was tired means she was tired when
she spoke. Not She said she is tired.
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Future Events and Time Elements
Events in the future are ordinarily reported in
the conditional tense. She said she would be
cooperative means that she promised to be
cooperative at some point after she spoke. When
the sentence specifies a time element, the
special tenses are unneeded She said she was
happy on Wednesday. Her happiness preceded the
speaking, but on Wednesday makes that clear.
Sentences may also be simplified when they
describe a continuing, eternal truth He said
that the earth is round. Use is because the earth
is forever round.
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When a Verb Ceases to Govern
To choose tenses, first identify the governing
verb in each example above, it is said. The
governing verb appears at the beginning of the
sentence if it moves, it ceases to govern. Mary
has a sprained ankle, Dr. Chan said, and cannot
play means that Mary had the sprained ankle when
Dr. Chan spoke. Said is not the governing verb,
but merely part of a parenthetical phrase thus
has and cannot are correct. If the sentence began
with Dr. Chan said, etc., the verbs would change
to had and could not. Mary had a sprained ankle,
Dr. Chan said, and could not play. Here the
meaning is that Mary was injured at some point
before Dr. Chan spoke.
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Either or
When either is the subject, the verb is singular
Either of the cars is available. When either and
or link singular terms, the verb is singular
Either the car or the truck is available. When
either and or link a singular term and a plural
one, put the plural term second and use a plural
verb Either the car or the trucks are available.
If the mixture of terms and verbs gets awkward,
recast the sentence The car is available, and so
are the trucks. I an either/or construction, the
terms that follow the two words should be
parallel in form and purpose The chef bakes
either pies or cakes daily (not either bakes pies
or cakes). The same principle applies to
neither/nor and both/and.
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Time Elements in Leads
The lead of a morning newspaper article is most
often in the past tense. In that kind of lead,
the main clause must include a time
elementtypically yesterday. Example President
Bush signed the fisheries employment bill
yesterday, hailing a new and lasting era of
opportunity on both coasts. (But not Signing
the fisheries employment bill yesterday,
President Bush hailed, etc. the time element
should not be sidelined in a parenthetical or
secondary clause.) In fluid writing, the best
place for the time element is after the
verbimmediately after, if the verb has no direct
object The vice chancellor of Hong Kong
University announced yesterday that
undergraduates would be required to perform four
hours of community service a week. But if there
is a direct object, the object should immediately
follow the verb, and the time element should
ideally follow both Chief Executive Tung
Chee-hwa ordered the police yesterday to arrest
jaywalkers.
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Conditional Tenses
When a sentence expresses the dependence of one
event on another, convey the two ideas in verb
tenses that work together always matched, never
mixed If President Bush runs, Mr. Cheney will be
on his ticket. (An if clause in the present
tense a then clause in the future tense.) If Mr.
Chan refused the job, Dr. Wong would get it. (An
if clause in the past tense a then clause in the
conditional tense.) If Mrs. Chan had wanted the
job, she would have said so. (An if clause in the
past perfect tense a then clause in the
conditional perfect.)
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Number of Subject and Verb
After a neither/nor construction, if the subjects
are both singular, use a singular verb Neither
John nor Mary was happy. If the subjects are both
plural, use a plural verb Neither the students
nor the teachers were happy. If one subject is
singular and the other plural, use the number of
the one nearer the verb Neither the man nor his
horses were ever seen again. A verb that merely
connects two elements in a sentence takes the
number of the preceding noun or pronoun, which is
the subject Her specialty was signing and
dancing and playing the violin. When the subject
is the pronoun what, the writer must decide
whether to construe it as the thing that
(singular) or the things that (plural). Once the
decision is made, all affected verbs must
conform What was remarkable was the errors made
on both sides What were most in demand were
language ability and a degree in Russian studies.
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Number of Subj.Verb (Contd)
When a verb is far removed from its subject,
especially if another noun intervenes, mistakes
like this may occur The value of Argentinas
exports to the United States are 183 million
pesos. The verb should be singular because its
subject (value) is singular. Misidentification of
the subject also causes trouble Terry Cordeiro
is one of those people who goes in for striking
colors. The verb should be go, since the subject
is who, which refers to the plural people. Test
such constructions by reversing them Of those
people who go in for striking colors, Terry
Cordeiro is one. Sums of money are usually
treated as singular because the focus is on the
sum, not on individual bills or coins Ten
dollars buys less now than five did then.
Similarly Five pounds of rice feeds a family of
four for a week (because the pounds are not
counted one by one). Use the plural when the
focus is on individual items Three hundred
parcels of food were shipped.
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Number of Subject and Verb (Continued)
Total of or number of (and a few similar
expressions, like series of) may take either a
plural or a singular verb. In general, when the
expression follows a, it is plural A total of
102 people were injured A number of people were
injured. When the expression follows the, it is
usually singular The total of all department
budgets is 187 million The number of passengers
injured was later found to be 12. If couple
conveys the idea of two people, treat it as a
plural The couple were married. But Each couple
was asked to give 10.