Should it be seem or seems?
2006-09-29 01:30:35 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
seems, as said above the word "anyone" is treated as a singular subject.
2006-09-29 10:03:08 · answer #1 · answered by Earthling 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
"Is it me or does everything anyone ever writes here seem corny."
First of all, if you said ". . . anything anyone ever writes. . ." there is no magnitude to the statement. You want the word everything. Secondly, "everything anyone writes here"- all part of the subject- is technically singular, so the primary verb is seem. It's very complicated and I'm sure there are mistakes in my explanation, but I do think it makes more sense than the others offered.
2006-09-29 04:49:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Seem. "Anything" is a singular subject, but the verb that agrees with this subject is "does", because you are asking a question and using "do" to construct the question. "Seem" remains in its base form, unconjugated.
The real grammar sticklers will tell you that it should be "Is it I?" instead of "Is it me?", which I think sounds ridiculous. English speakers have been saying things like "Is it me?" for much longer than the rule that said it's wrong existed. (The rule was made up in the late 1700s.)
2006-09-30 18:18:41 · answer #3 · answered by drshorty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the above answer that the sentence needs wordsmithing, but "seems" is correct as the verb. The subject of the sentence is anything; the verb is seems. Since anything is singular, the verb must agree with the singular subject, thus must be seems.
2006-09-29 01:36:59 · answer #4 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is it me or does everything everybody writes here seem corny?
2006-09-29 11:39:35 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
seem.
But, if you're worried about grammar, there are other issues with your statement. Why not try this?
Am I the only one who thinks that everything others write here is corny?
2006-09-29 01:39:07 · answer #6 · answered by William T 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"Anyone" and "anything" are singular, so the verb should be "seems."
A good way to test when you're not sure if a subject is singular is to use it with obvious singular and plural subjects: "she" and "they" or "one" and "two." For example, "she seems," "they seem," "one seems," "two seem."
2006-09-29 02:17:33 · answer #7 · answered by Katyana 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is all wrong.
I would put "Is it just me or does it seem that everything written here is corny?"
2006-09-29 01:31:54 · answer #8 · answered by MoMattTexas 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i agree with d 1st answer.
it really shud b "is it just me or does it seem that everything written here is corny?"
2006-09-29 02:02:59 · answer #9 · answered by Ash 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I should think that worrying about whether it "should be seem or seems" is the least of your problems.
I am sure this is not a serious query.
2006-09-29 02:03:55 · answer #10 · answered by cloud43 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋