Q&A - PSLE English

[notredame]

AdvancedAcademia:

notredame:

Question: A series of publicity stunts _______ (was/were) staged.


Model answer is 'was'. I thought it should be were. Please help. Thank you.

The answer is 'was'. A series is singular, think of it as a list or collective noun.

Thank you advancedacademia & xxxx for your views.
I have a link to share:
http://grammartips.homestead.com/number.html
The examples are:
The number of candidates for the position was large.
A number of candidates were applying for the position.
Thus I am for 'A series of stunts were....'.

[XXXX]

notredame:

AdvancedAcademia:

[quote=\"notredame\"]Question: A series of publicity stunts _______ (was/were) staged.


Model answer is 'was'. I thought it should be were. Please help. Thank you.

The answer is 'was'. A series is singular, think of it as a list or collective noun.

Thank you advancedacademia & xxxx for your views.
I have a link to share:
http://grammartips.homestead.com/number.html
The examples are:
The number of candidates for the position was large.
A number of candidates were applying for the position.
Thus I am for 'A series of stunts were....'.[/quote]See also http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/112316/plural-or-singular-verb-for-collective-term

It seems clear to me that \"was\" is correct by the simple rule of matching the subject to the verb, and the subject is clearly singular: \"A series\". The plural \"stunts\" should not affect the verb as it is acting as a modifier (telling us the type of series). The subject is the stunts considered together as a series, not several independently occurring stunts.

Some good discussion contained in the link above.

Thanks AdvancedAcademia for forcing me to think about it!

[notredame]

I am confused.

Refer this link: http://www.english-for-students.com/Number-of-People.html#chitika_close_button
It says 'a number' is strictly singular but the phrase 'a number of' is used with plural noun.
So it doesn't apply to 'a series' and 'a series of'? Hmm... what's the difference?

[AdvancedAcademia]

notredame:

I am confused.

Refer this link: http://www.english-for-students.com/Number-of-People.html#chitika_close_button
It says 'a number' is strictly singular but the phrase 'a number of' is used with plural noun.
So it doesn't apply to 'a series' and 'a series of'? Hmm... what's the difference?

I'll try my best to explain this, but might not come out clearly in writing. When attempting concord (S-V-A) questions, we are trying to match the verb to the subject.

Typically, when talking about an amount, it requires a singular verb. The number serves as the subject. E.g.

Five dollars is a lot of money.
The number of confused English students is massive.

However, plural forms are used when the emphasis of the sentence is on the individual constituents of that number E.g.

A number of people are waiting for the bus.
Three forummers are discussing about the usage of concord.
The crew are preparing to dock the ship.

With reference to the original question. I think the best way to think about \"series\" is to consider it as a list. So similarly we would say, \"A list(series) of books was given to my boy.\" and not \"A list(series) of books were given to my boy.\"

[notredame]

Thank you AdvancedAcademia for your explanation.


So, I should say:
A number of crimes have taken place in this area (if this is proper english); but
A series of crimes has taken place in this area.
OK, so ‘number’ is a distinctive/odd one.

[GoopPwr]

Louise would have visited Sue at the hospital if she _______ that Sue had been warded for dengue fever.


1 - knew
2 - had known
3 - was known
4 - would have known

Given answer is 2 - had known.

appreciate if anyone can tell me why it is 2, and not 1 please.

where or which word(s) from the sentence that I shd look out for, or which word gives me the clue that the answer is 2.

Thanks very much

[GoopPwr]

Mr Pang chose to keep quiet _______ his memory failed him and he gave an inaccurate account of the events that unfolded that fateful day.


1- as
2- lest
3- held off
4- held over

given answer is 2 - lest

I need help to explain to my son why lest is the best answer.

Thanks very much

[XXXX]

GoopPwr:

Louise would have visited Sue at the hospital if she _______ that Sue had been warded for dengue fever.


1 - knew
2 - had known
3 - was known
4 - would have known

Given answer is 2 - had known.

appreciate if anyone can tell me why it is 2, and not 1 please.

where or which word(s) from the sentence that I shd look out for, or which word gives me the clue that the answer is 2.

Thanks very much

At the time when a visit was possible, she did not know. She might know now, we don't know - it is not specified.

The relevant part is that she did not know back then but if she had known, she would have gone (both verbs are in the past and \"had known\" places the knowing part just prior to the visiting). If it helps, sketch a time line.

[GoopPwr]

thanks very much XXXX, I realised you’ve answered a similar question on 30 Aug.

[GoopPwr]

…since or after the industrial revolution ?


should the answer be since or after ?

any difference in usage ?

thanks for any help