Subject-verb agreement with more than one gerund in the subject
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
I have seen a discussion of double gerunds and subject-verb agreement, but not addressing the following specific situtation:
"Reading and studying history HAS or HAVE been formative...": two gerunds with the same object as the subject of the sentence. I think a singular verb is clearly called for. Arguments in favor or against?
verb-agreement
asked Dec 15 at 22:16
Joseph Greene
1
New contributor
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
I have seen a discussion of double gerunds and subject-verb agreement, but not addressing the following specific situtation:
"Reading and studying history HAS or HAVE been formative...": two gerunds with the same object as the subject of the sentence. I think a singular verb is clearly called for. Arguments in favor or against?
verb-agreement
asked Dec 15 at 22:16
Joseph Greene
1
New contributor
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
I have seen a discussion of double gerunds and subject-verb agreement, but not addressing the following specific situtation:
"Reading and studying history HAS or HAVE been formative...": two gerunds with the same object as the subject of the sentence. I think a singular verb is clearly called for. Arguments in favor or against?
verb-agreement
asked Dec 15 at 22:16
Joseph Greene
1
New contributor
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I have seen a discussion of double gerunds and subject-verb agreement, but not addressing the following specific situtation:
"Reading and studying history HAS or HAVE been formative...": two gerunds with the same object as the subject of the sentence. I think a singular verb is clearly called for. Arguments in favor or against?
verb-agreement
verb-agreement
asked Dec 15 at 22:16
Joseph Greene
1
New contributor
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Dec 15 at 22:16
Joseph Greene
1
New contributor
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Dec 15 at 22:16
Joseph Greene
1
New contributor
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Dec 15 at 22:16
Joseph Greene
1
asked Dec 15 at 22:16
Joseph Greene
1
1
New contributor
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Joseph Greene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
0
down vote
It depends entirely on context and whether or not you are using the two things individually or referring to a single collective thing.
The sentence you provided is ambiguous but you can make the meaning clear (either way) by slightly rephrasing it.
For instance:
Both reading and studying history have been formative.
The activity of reading and studying history has been formative.
Without rephrasing it, an argument could be made for either the singular or the plural. It depends on what you're trying to express. Neither would necessarily be wrong.
answered Dec 15 at 23:23
Jason Bassford
15.2k31941
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Joseph Greene is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f477292%2fsubject-verb-agreement-with-more-than-one-gerund-in-the-subject%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
0
down vote
It depends entirely on context and whether or not you are using the two things individually or referring to a single collective thing.
The sentence you provided is ambiguous but you can make the meaning clear (either way) by slightly rephrasing it.
For instance:
Both reading and studying history have been formative.
The activity of reading and studying history has been formative.
Without rephrasing it, an argument could be made for either the singular or the plural. It depends on what you're trying to express. Neither would necessarily be wrong.
answered Dec 15 at 23:23
Jason Bassford
15.2k31941
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
It depends entirely on context and whether or not you are using the two things individually or referring to a single collective thing.
The sentence you provided is ambiguous but you can make the meaning clear (either way) by slightly rephrasing it.
For instance:
Both reading and studying history have been formative.
The activity of reading and studying history has been formative.
Without rephrasing it, an argument could be made for either the singular or the plural. It depends on what you're trying to express. Neither would necessarily be wrong.
answered Dec 15 at 23:23
Jason Bassford
15.2k31941
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
It depends entirely on context and whether or not you are using the two things individually or referring to a single collective thing.
The sentence you provided is ambiguous but you can make the meaning clear (either way) by slightly rephrasing it.
For instance:
Both reading and studying history have been formative.
The activity of reading and studying history has been formative.
Without rephrasing it, an argument could be made for either the singular or the plural. It depends on what you're trying to express. Neither would necessarily be wrong.
answered Dec 15 at 23:23
Jason Bassford
15.2k31941
It depends entirely on context and whether or not you are using the two things individually or referring to a single collective thing.
The sentence you provided is ambiguous but you can make the meaning clear (either way) by slightly rephrasing it.
For instance:
Both reading and studying history have been formative.
The activity of reading and studying history has been formative.
Without rephrasing it, an argument could be made for either the singular or the plural. It depends on what you're trying to express. Neither would necessarily be wrong.
answered Dec 15 at 23:23
Jason Bassford
15.2k31941
answered Dec 15 at 23:23
Jason Bassford
15.2k31941
answered Dec 15 at 23:23
Jason Bassford
15.2k31941
answered Dec 15 at 23:23
Jason Bassford
15.2k31941
15.2k31941
add a comment |
add a comment |
Joseph Greene is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Joseph Greene is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Joseph Greene is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Joseph Greene is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f477292%2fsubject-verb-agreement-with-more-than-one-gerund-in-the-subject%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
