त्वरित लिंक्स
English Language
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In advanced English syntax, subject-verb agreement (concord) frequently becomes problematic when structural intervening elements, notional concord preferences, coordinate subjects, or complex quantifier phrases interact with the matrix verb. Consider the following four advanced propositions regarding subject-verb agreement: I. When two singular noun phrases are conjoined by 'and' to form a compound subject, they invariably require a plural verb unless they refer to a single, inseparable semantic entity, a well-established hendiadys, or an item viewed as a unified whole (e.g., *'Bread and butter is my favorite breakfast'* or *'Law and order is essential for society'*). II. In sentences involving correlative disjunctions or alternative subject coordinators such as 'either... or', 'neither... nor', or 'not only... but also', the verb's number must always be determined by the syntactically distant first subject rather than the structurally closer subject noun phrase, adhering strictly to the principle of left-to-right precedence. III. Fractional expressions, percentages, and indefinite quantifiers like 'all', 'some', 'none', and 'most' preceding an of-phrase (e.g., *'Two-thirds of the manuscript has been revised'* versus *'Two-thirds of the pages have been revised'*) exhibit proportional agreement, where the verb's number is governed by the grammatical number (countability and singular/plural status) of the nominal head within the embedded prepositional complement. IV. Collective nouns (such as 'committee', 'jury', 'faculty', or 'audience') trigger absolute grammatical uniformity across all dialects of English; they are strictly restricted to singular verb agreement under all circumstances regardless of whether the group acts as a cohesive unit or as independent individuals with divergent opinions. Identify the option that correctly evaluates the grammatical, syntactic, and semantic validity of propositions I, II, III, and IV according to standard English syntax and Agreement (linguistics) theory.
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Detailed Explanation
To determine the correct evaluation, let us analyze each proposition based on standard English syntax and Agreement (linguistics) rules:
- **Proposition I is valid:** While coordinate subjects joined by 'and' normally take a plural verb, semantic concord (notional agreement) overrides this rule when the conjoined items represent a single, fused concept, meal, or legal/social unity (e.g., *'Bread and butter is...'*, *'Time and tide waits for no man'*).
- **Proposition II is invalid:** In correlative coordination structures ('either... or', 'neither... nor', 'not only... but also'), the verb agrees with the *closer* noun or pronoun phrase (the rule of proximity), not the first subject.
- **Proposition III is valid:** With fractional expressions, percentages, and quantifiers like 'all', 'none', or 'some' followed by an 'of-phrase', the verb number is determined by the object of the preposition (the embedded noun's countability/number). Thus, *'Two-thirds of the manuscript (singular) has...'*, but *'Two-thirds of the pages (plural) have...'*
- **Proposition IV is invalid:** Collective nouns permit both singular (when acting as a unified entity) and plural (British English 'notional concord' when members act individually, e.g., *'The committee are divided in their opinions'*) verb agreement. Therefore, they are not strictly restricted to singular verbs under all conditions.
Thus, only Propositions I and III are valid.
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