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The general rule I learned is to ignore subordinate clauses when resolving cases like this. The "outer" sentence, which contains the verb, is "The oath he swore (verb) just fluff to him", and so t...
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#2: Post edited
by
Moshi
·
2020-09-21T19:04:43Z (about 4 years ago)
Updated for Monica's clarification
- > The general rule I learned is to ignore subordinate clauses when resolving cases like this. The "outer" sentence, which contains the verb, is "The oath he swore (verb) just fluff to him", and so the correct verb is "was".
- That is correct, "was" is the grammatically correct choice in your example sentence. Basically, you should be able to delete the nonrestrictive clause and the sentence should remain grammatically correct.
- > My question is: does English grammar have any rules about verb number in such phrases (including, possibly, "don't do it because you cannot win")?
I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. "Don't do it" is a simple imperative sentence. "because you cannot win" is a subordinate clause.- ---
- > But the subordinate clause uses a plural (the "words" that make up the oath), so it looks funny to write "was" immediately after.
- >
- > I am aware that I can rewrite the sentence to avoid this problem. My question isn't about how to write it.
- Even though your question isn't about it, I'll answer it anyway. Grammatically correct does not always mean natural. That's why many writers suggest that you read your work out loud and rework awkward sentences. If it sounds off to you, you should rewrite it to sound more natural rather than worrying about grammar.
- > The general rule I learned is to ignore subordinate clauses when resolving cases like this. The "outer" sentence, which contains the verb, is "The oath he swore (verb) just fluff to him", and so the correct verb is "was".
- That is correct, "was" is the grammatically correct choice in your example sentence. Basically, you should be able to delete the nonrestrictive clause and the sentence should remain grammatically correct.
- > My question is: does English grammar have any rules about verb number in such phrases (including, possibly, "don't do it because you cannot win")?
- While some might recommend not creating this sort of construction, there's no actual grammar rule against having differing plurality between the primary and subordinate clauses. It just probably won't sound natural.
- ---
- > But the subordinate clause uses a plural (the "words" that make up the oath), so it looks funny to write "was" immediately after.
- >
- > I am aware that I can rewrite the sentence to avoid this problem. My question isn't about how to write it.
- Even though your question isn't about it, I'll answer it anyway. Grammatically correct does not always mean natural. That's why many writers suggest that you read your work out loud and rework awkward sentences. If it sounds off to you, you should rewrite it to sound more natural rather than worrying about grammar.
#1: Initial revision
by
Moshi
·
2020-09-21T18:18:10Z (about 4 years ago)
> The general rule I learned is to ignore subordinate clauses when resolving cases like this. The "outer" sentence, which contains the verb, is "The oath he swore (verb) just fluff to him", and so the correct verb is "was". That is correct, "was" is the grammatically correct choice in your example sentence. Basically, you should be able to delete the nonrestrictive clause and the sentence should remain grammatically correct. > My question is: does English grammar have any rules about verb number in such phrases (including, possibly, "don't do it because you cannot win")? I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. "Don't do it" is a simple imperative sentence. "because you cannot win" is a subordinate clause. --- > But the subordinate clause uses a plural (the "words" that make up the oath), so it looks funny to write "was" immediately after. > > I am aware that I can rewrite the sentence to avoid this problem. My question isn't about how to write it. Even though your question isn't about it, I'll answer it anyway. Grammatically correct does not always mean natural. That's why many writers suggest that you read your work out loud and rework awkward sentences. If it sounds off to you, you should rewrite it to sound more natural rather than worrying about grammar.