Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Articles of Confederatin vs. US Constitution

Articles of Confederatin vs. US Constitution The United States has had two constitutions in its history. The first of the two was the Articles of Confederation, otherwise known as simply the Articles. The Articles were a weak form of central government that barely unified the thirteen United States. The almost immediate failure of the Articles of Confederation led to the Constitutional Convention, where our nations new constitution, the United States Constitution, was born. The Constitution is a much stronger and more structured form of central government. It contains some of the same things as the Articles, but it also addresses the weaknesses of them. This is what makes the document so powerful.Although the Articles of Confederation were not all bad, its weaknesses most definitely out shined its strengths. The only branch that the Articles created was the legislative branch, simply known as Congress. Congress carried out the jobs and duties of todays legislative and executive branches.The Articles of Conferderation, ratified in 1781. ...States could choose however many representatives that wanted to send to Congress. The problem was that each state had only one vote in Congress no matter how many people they sent. This became a major issue since it was hard for the members of the same state to agree on a number of issues. Another huge problem was that a passage of any measure required not a simple 7 vote majority, but instead it required 9 out of 13 votes. Also, the Articles could not be amended unless all 13 states approved the amendment. These two setbacks made it very hard for Congress to get many things accomplished. Another problem with the Articles was that Congress had no power to collect taxes in order to raise money. This was a huge blow to the nations economy since they were in so much debt after the closing of...

Sunday, March 1, 2020

20 Rules About Subject-Verb Agreement

20 Rules About Subject-Verb Agreement 20 Rules About Subject-Verb Agreement 20 Rules About Subject-Verb Agreement By Mark Nichol Is, or are? Go, or goes? Whether a verb is singular or plural depends on any one of a complicated set of factors. Here is a roster of rules for subject-verb agreement (or â€Å"Here are some rules . . .†): 1. Use verbs that agree with a subject, not with a noun that is part of a modifying phrase or clause between verb and subject: â€Å"The pot of eggs is boiling on the stove.† 2. Use singular or plural verbs that agree with the subject, not with the complement of the subject: â€Å"My favorite type of movie is comedies,† but â€Å"Comedies are my favorite type of movie.† 3. Use singular verbs with singular indefinite pronouns each, the â€Å"-bodies,† â€Å"-ones,† and â€Å"-things† (anybody, everyone, nothing), and the like: â€Å"Neither is correct.† (And, just as in rule number 1, the presence of a modifier is irrelevant: â€Å"Neither of them is correct.†) 4. Use plural verbs with plural indefinite pronouns: â€Å"Many outcomes are possible.† 5. Use singular verbs with uncountable nouns that follow an indefinite pronoun: â€Å"All the paint is dried up.† 6. Use plural verbs with countable nouns that follow an indefinite pronoun: â€Å"All the nails are spilled on the floor.† 7. Use plural verbs with compound subjects that include and: â€Å"The dog and the cat are outside.† 8. Use plural verbs or singular verbs, depending on the form of the noun nearest the verb, with compound subjects that include nor or or: â€Å"Either the dog or the cats are responsible for the mess.† (â€Å"Either the cats or the dog is responsible for the mess† is also technically correct but is awkward.) 9. Use singular verbs with inverted subjects that include singular nouns: â€Å"Why is my hat outside in the rain?† 10. Use plural verbs with inverted subjects (those beginning with the expletive there rather than the actual subject) that include plural nouns: â€Å"There are several hats outside in the rain.† 11. Use singular or plural verbs with collective nouns depending on meaning: â€Å"His staff is assembled,† but â€Å"Staff are asked to go to the conference room immediately.† (In the first sentence, the emphasis is on the body of employees; in the second sentence, the focus is on compliance by each individual in the body of employees.) 12. Use singular verbs for designations of entities, such as nations or organizations, or compositions, such as books or films: â€Å"The United Nations is headquartered in New York.† 13. Use singular verbs for subjects plural in form but singular in meaning: â€Å"Physics is my favorite subject.† 14. Use singular or plural verbs for subjects plural in form but plural or singular in meaning depending on the context: â€Å"The economics of the situation are complicated,† but â€Å"Economics is a complicated topic.† 15. Use plural verbs for subjects plural in form and meaning: â€Å"The tweezers are in the cupboard.† 16. Use plural verbs in constructions of the form â€Å"one of those (blank) who . . .†: â€Å"I am one of those eccentrics who do not tweet.† 17. Use singular verbs in constructions of the form â€Å"the only one of those (blank) who . . .†: â€Å"I am the only one of my friends who does not tweet.† 18. Use singular verbs in constructions of the form â€Å"the number of (blank) . . .†: â€Å"The number of people here boggles the mind.† 19. Use plural verbs in constructions of the form â€Å"a number of (blank) . . .†: â€Å"A number of people here disagree.† 20. Use singular verbs in construction of the forms â€Å"every (blank) . . .† and â€Å"many a (blank) . . .†: â€Å"Every good boy does fine†; â€Å"Many a true word is spoken in jest.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"Social vs. Societal35 Synonyms for Rain and Snow