English Grammar and Usage Problems => Use and Misuse => Topic started by: Miss Mae on January 31, 2013, 03:57:43 PM
Title: The Basics of Pluralizing
Post by: Miss Mae on January 31, 2013, 03:57:43 PM
How on earth can I make the subject of the following sentence agree with the noun in the parenthetical?
Entry-level attorneys (Lawyer I) must have passed the state's bar.
Title: Re: The Basics of Pluralizing
Post by: Joe Carillo on February 01, 2013, 08:16:05 AM
There’s really no need for the subject in the following sentence to agree with the noun in the parenthetical: “Entry-level attorneys (Lawyer I) must have passed the state’s bar.” Here, the subject “attorneys” is a plural noun, but the parenthetical “Lawyer I”—although a singular noun in form—is actually a category or classification. As such, it functions as an adjective modifying the noun phrase “entry-level attorneys.” In English grammar, as we know, adjectives don’t have a plural form; they don’t inflect or change regardless of whether the noun they are modifying is singular or plural. It is therefore grammatically incorrect to seek agreement in number between the subject and the parenthetical in that sentence in this way: “Entry-level attorneys (Lawyers I) must have passed the state’s bar.” Indeed, as a rule in the English language, agreement in number (whether singular or plural) should be sought only for the subject and the verb in a sentence.
Title: Re: The Basics of Pluralizing
Post by: Miss Mae on February 02, 2013, 01:39:54 PM