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Grammar

britdam007

britdam007

India

Please mention the correct form:


It is not possible for mr to exchange the goods once / after the sale has been completed.



Best regards,


Abhishek

08:11 AM Feb 16 2015 |

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britdam007

britdam007

India

But then don’t you think it will be , Two-fifths of the tank are full?



Best regards,


Abhishek

05:31 AM Feb 25 2015 |

Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

“Tank” is a singular noun, so the correct answer is “Two fifths of the tank is full.”


Try using another fraction and it will make more sense. Let’s use 1/2. For example, “One half of the tank is full” is correct, but not “One half of the tank are full.” The same is true for 2/5.


I hope this helps!


Best,


Amy

03:20 AM Feb 26 2015 |

britdam007

britdam007

India

3) Two-thirds of the book were rubbish. Book is also a singular noun. So why the auxiliary verb is plural then?


Best regards,


Abhishek

06:42 AM Feb 26 2015 |

Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

My apologies for the delay in answering this question. I wanted to ask a few friends to get their opinions!


You are right. It’s probably “Two thirds of the book was rubbish,” just like “Two fifths of the tank is full.” I say probably because I did have one colleague tell me that “Two thirds of the book were rubbish” was actually correct! It’s very confusing. There was no agreement.


The one thing everyone agreed upon was that “Two fifths of the tank is full” sounds strange. It would be more natural to say “The tank is two fifths full.”


Best,


Amy

02:19 AM Mar 02 2015 |

britdam007

britdam007

India

I have  a grammar book here that says Two thirds of the book were rubbish and  Two fifths of tank are full. It also says that for the fractions like 1/5, 1/6,1/3 etc.( i.e if the numerator is 1) the auxiliry verb will take the singular form. On the other hand, if the numerator is greater than 1 like 2/5 , 3/5 , 5/6 the auxiliary verb will take the plural form like  Two fifths of tank are full. But one-fifth of the tank is full since the numerator is 1 here.


What is your take on that? Please advise ASAP.


Best regards,


Abhishek



07:17 AM Mar 02 2015 |

Teacher AmySuper Member!

United States

Your grammar book is correct. It makes sense that the numerator would determine if you should use the singular or plural form. Thanks for the challenging question! :-)


Best,


Amy

04:17 AM Mar 03 2015 |

britdam007

britdam007

India

Bingo! You made my day! Thanks a million Teacher Amy! 



Cheers

12:49 PM Mar 03 2015 |