This is an interesting observation.  Most texts that cover English morphology don't use the term "plural" to describe any forms except "are" and "were".  These go back to Old English plurals, back when all verbs had plural forms, but these are the only ones left.  What's interesting is that while we speak of a third singular present suffix, we think of the verb without it as the base form, which is a pretty much non-functional, strictly morphological term.  Shows how unimportant number has become in the English verb.

 

You're not alone.  There are probably another 350m English speakers who would agree.

 

Herb

	

	

	 

	I don’t think of verbs as singular or plural.

	 

	Am I alone in this?

	 

	Christine in Baltimore 

	 

	 

	-----Original Message-----

	From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Kari Anderson

	Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 3:02 PM

	To: [log in to unmask]

	Subject: Singular or Plural

	 

	

	I have a question for you--should it be "attends" or "attend" and why? 

	        We propose he attend(s) the management workshop. 

	Kari Anderson 

	University of Nebraska at Kearney 

	West Center 

	Kearney, NE 68849 To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" 

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