Syntax - semináře zápisky

My daughter’s school have decided to hold their sports day next Saturday.

1. The club have given 5, 000 pounds to charity this year.

The club has fifty per cent more members than a year ago.

1. The staff do not like the new manager.

The staff does not need to be increased.

1. Jane’s class is in Room 6.

Our class are planning a party.

1. The orchestra are just tuning up – let´s hurry in.

An orchestra is composed of string, wind, and percussion instruments.

A group of teenagers in the town (has/have) organised a scheme to help old people with their shopping. → a group of + noun in plural

1. A number of people (has/have) complained about the noise. → a number of + noun in plural

2. Do you think three pounds (is/are) a big enough tip? → the reference to a whole amount

3. Hamburger and chips (is/are) not very healthy lunch. → compound noun joined by AND

4. In the latest rail union vote, the majority (has/have) voted to go on strike; the rest of the members (is/are) expected to support the strike fairly solidly. → majority as a whole or majority as individuals; the rest of + noun in plural (but it can also be “the rest of + uncountable noun (snow) – it would be in singular)

5. Two kilos (is/are) pretty small for a newborn baby. → the reference is to a whole amount

6. Our teenage son thinks there (is/are) a number of good reasons for staying up late and having a good time. → a number of + noun in plural

7. More than one house in our street (has/have) been broken into recently. → more than one

8. A couple of dangerous-looking men (is/are) waiting for you outside. → a couple of + noun in plural

9. One of my friends (has/have) just won two free plane tickets to New York. → one of + noun in plural

10. Six weeks (is/are) a long time to wait for news of your family. → the reference to a whole amount

11. The majority of the children´s parents (is/are) unemployed.

12. A lot of shops (is/are) opening on Sundays now. -

13. The Philippines (has/have) signed the new human rights agreement. → plural names of countries are followed by singular verb

14. The police think that more than one person (was/were) in the stolen car. ????

15. Tom and Rosie were late, but the rest of us (was/were) on time. → the rest – depending on what follows

16. (Is/Are) bacon and eggs what you usually eat for breakfast? → it is considered as 1 meal

17. We´ve just learnt that a couple of our club members (has/have) been chosen for the national team. → a couple of + noun in plural = verb in plural

Choose the best words in the following sentences

1. The global total of homes with TV was/were estimated to be over 500 million by 1987. – “the global total” – because there is THE – it is concrete number

2. But in 1988 the Chinese News Agency said the number of TV viewers in China alone was/were 600 million. → it is specific number because there is “THE number of”(it is not the same as “a number of people – hodně lidí)

1. 600 million is/are a lot of viewers. → the reference is to a whole amount

2. The greatest number of episodes of any TV programme ever sold was/were 1,144 episodes of Coronation Street.→ “the number of” NOT “a number of”

3. In 1971 the complete series at that date was/were sold to a Canadian company. → the plural and the singular are the same “1 series or 10 series”

4. The Winds of War, about the Second World War, was/were the most expensive television production ever. → it is one TV show

5. 1.6 billion people – or a third of the world’s population – is/are said to have watched Bob Geldof’s original Live Aid concerts. → “third of the world’s population” = 1.6 billion people – we refer to the same thing by 2 different expressions - it is coordinative apposition with OR (verb agrees with first noun phrase – 1.6 billion people which is in plural)

6. This pop star and fund raiser is/are now world famous. → coordinative apposition with AND

7. Actually Billy Graham – as well as Bob Geldof – was/were behind these concerts. → quasi coordination - the verb agrees with the first noun phrase

8. Around one in ten UK households was/were without colour TV in 1988. → one in number + noun in plural → verb in plural

9. But more than one in two households in the UK has/have two or more sets. – one in number + noun in plural → verb in plural

10. Having two or three sets seems/seem unnecessary to me.

11. 25 hours 21 minutes is/are said to be the average UK viewer´s weekly “fix”.→ the reference is to whole amount

12. A majority of viewers worldwide probably watches/watch news programmes regularly.→ majority is followed by plural noun so the plural verb would be better

13. News of disasters reaches/reach a huge audience. → news is always followed by singular verb

14. What you both see and hear has/have an enormous impact. → hear and see = 1 unit

15. So many people being killed in earthquakes and cyclones is/are tragic. → the fact is tragic

16. So-called programmes of entertainment is/are not always entertaining.

17. But apparently the audience for “sit-coms” and “soaps” is/are large. → it can be taken as a collective noun OR it can refers to individual

18. Too much sex and violence is/are shown in my opinion. →

19. Swearing – and bad language in general – is/are also prevalent. → quazi-coordination

20. A number of concerned individuals protests/protest. → “a number of” = mnoho