there is more than one finite verb, there are twoclausesand
these should either be separated by afull stoporsemi-colon
or linked by aconjunction. There are three clauses in the
following piece but they are not linked:
He crept round the corner she followed him she was
very suspicious.There are several ways in which this could be corrected:
As he crept round the corner, she followed him; she was
very suspicious.
He crept round the corner; she followed himbecause
she was very suspicious.
As he crept round the corner, she followed himbecause
she was very suspicious.Checking the correct use of verbs
Always make sure that thenounsand theverbs‘agree’. If
the noun is singular, the verb should also be singular.
Collective nouns are singular and are followed
by the singular form of the verb.The governmentis hoping to win the vote of confidence.
not
The government are hoping to win the vote of
confidence.IMPROVING YOUR STYLE / 77