Olga Stroia

GOVERNMENT AND
ADMINISTRATION
(Note de curs, anI Admin. Publica)

UNIT 1. THE CONCEPT and THE BASIC FACTS of the

BRITISH CONSTITUTION

Unwritten character
The British constitution is not written in a basic document or group of
documents.

Continuity of development
It has evolved over the centuries with but few sudden or dramatic changes,
and high degree of historical continuity has been maintained as the
constitution has been brought up to date. Of the modern institutions of
government, some are still rooted in medieval origins. But the constitution is
not a museum piece. The greater part of Britains constitutional law has been
made in this century.

Parliamentary sovereignty
Parliament as a legislative body can enact any law whatsoever on any
subject whatsoever in the eyes of United Kingdom courts, according to the
generally held view. Changes in rules of constitutional law can be effected
by ordinary legislation.

Law and convention

Particularly in the working of the executive branch of government and its
relationship with the Legislature, the constitution is regulated to a large
extent by rules which do no belong to the normal legal categories. These
rules are called constitutional conventions. They are rules of political
conduct or binding usages, most of which are capable of being varied or of
simply disappearing as political conditions and ideas change. If conventions
are to be classified as rules of constitutional law, then the term 'law' must be
given a very broad meaning. To use the term 'law' in more than one sense is
not in itself unusual. Sometimes it is convenient to contrast constitutional
convention with 'strict law'. Thus, in strict law (by virtue of the royal
prerogative) the Queen can dismiss her Ministers at pleasure. By convention
this legal power is exercisable only in very extraordinary circumstances.
And because it is well understood that, save in exceptional circumstances,
the Queen must act in accordance with ministerial advice, Parliament still
adopts the form of conferring discretionary powers on Her Majesty. This
dichotomy of law and convention pervades much of our constitutional law.

Flexibility
The absence of a cumbersome procedure for altering rules of constitutional
importance, the omnicompetence of Parliament and the pliability of many
constitutional conventions tend to make the British constitution flexible and
easily adaptable. ( ... )

Unitary nature
The United Kingdom is a unitary, not a federal, State, at the present time. If
it were a federal State, Parliament would not be omnicompetent.

Limited monarchy
Succession to the throne is hereditary. The functions of the head of State are
primarily ceremonial, and despite their amplitude in strict law they are now
of little or no political significance in normal times.

Bicameralism
The upper House of Parliament, the House of Lords, still constituted mainly
on a hereditary basis, is of minor importance; the lower House, the elected
House of Commons, is the focus of political attention.

Parliamentary Executive
The political arm of the executive branch of government is recruited from
and located within Parliament, and the Cabinet is collectively 'responsible'
to Parliament in general and the House of Commons in particular. A
Government would either have to resign or go to the country if it were to
forfeit the support of a majority in the Commons.

Executive dominance in the Legislature

Because of the structure of modern British political parties, and the
operation of the electoral system and certain constitutional rules, the
Government in office is normally able to command parliamentary support
for the implementation of almost any policy that it is in practice likely to
adopt. The Government has indeed to be responsive to parliamentary
opinion, as well as to the weight of opinion in the electorate at large, but one
must not imagine that it is in any real sense a delegate or agent of
Parliament. Parliamentary government is not governed by Parliament. The
Government governs in and through Parliament. At the same time, it would
be erroneous to speak in terms of 'Cabinet dictatorship'. A Government
operates within a complex network of constraints, restricting its freedom of
manoeuvre.

Judicial independence
The Judiciary is appointed by the Executive, but it is conspicuously
independent both of the Executive and of the Legislature. ( ... )

Read the following considerations about the word constitutional, its

meanings and its opposites as given in A Dictionary of Modem Legal
Usage by Bryan A. Garner. Write sentences with each meaning and each
opposite:

constitutional should not generally be capitalized, though Constitution (in

reference to the United States Constitution or any particular constitution)
should be. The adjective has two meanings: (1) "of or relating to the
Constitution" (constitutional rights); and (2) "proper under Constitution"
(constitutional actions).
Here is an illustration of sense (l): The diversion of a job to a
competitor is not an invasion of a constitutional right."
And here of sense (2): "The Wisconsin statute which is similar to the
Norris-La Guardia Act, has also been held constitutional. The opposite of
constitutional sense (1) is nonconstitutional and in sense (2) is
unconstitutional.

UNIT 2. GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch - Queen
Elizabeth II - as Head of State. The British constitution, unlike those of most
other countries, is not set out in any single document. Instead it is made up
of statute law, common law and conventions. Conventions are rules and
practices which are not legally enforceable but which are regarded as
indispensable to the working of government.
Constitutional Reforms
- The Government held separate referendums in Scotland and Wales in
1997 which confirmed popular demand tot- devolving power from
Parliament at Westminster to a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh
Assembly. Legislation is before Parliament to implement the
devolution settlements.
- In a referendum in May, 1998, the residents of London voted in favour
of having a directly elected mayor and assembly of 2,5 members.
- Legislation is before Parliament to enact a Code of Rights which
would incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into
domestic law.
Other major proposals include increasing the openness of government
through the introduction of' freedom of information legislation; modernising

the procedures of the House of Commons, and reforming the House of

Lords.
MONARCHY
The Monarchy is the oldest institution of government, going back to at least
the 9th century. The only interruption in the monarchy was the republic of
1649-60.

THE MONARCH'S ROLE IN GOVERNMENT

The Queen is not only head of State, but also an important symbol of
national unity. In law she is:
- head of the executive;
- an integral part of the legislature;
- head of the judiciary;
- commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crown;
- the 'supreme governor' of the established Church of England.
As a result of a long process of evolution, during which the monarchy's
absolute power has been progressively reduced, the Queen acts on the
advice of her ministers. Britain is governed by Her Majesty's Government in
the name of the Queen. In spite of a trend during the past hundred years
towards giving powers directly to ministers, the Queen still takes part in
some important acts of government. These include summoning, proroguing discontinuing until the next session without dissolution - and dissolving
Parliament; and giving Royal Assent to Bills passed by Parliament. The
Queen also formally appoints many important office holders, including
government ministers, judges, officers in the armed forces, diplomats,

bishops and some other senior clergy of the Church of England. She is also
involved in pardoning people convicted of crimes; and conferring peerages,
knighthoods and other honours .
An important function is appointing the Prime Minister: by convention
the Queen invites the leader of the political party which commands a
majority in the House of Commons to form a government.
In international affairs the Queen, as head of State, has the power to
declare war and make peace, to recognise foreign states and governments, to
conclude treaties and to annex or cede territory. With rare exceptions - such
as appointing the Prime Minister - acts involving the use of 'royal
prerogative' powers are nowadays performed by government ministers. The
ministers are responsible to Parliament and can be questioned about
particular policies. Parliamentary authority is not required for the exercise of
these prerogative powers, although Parliament may restrict or abolish such
rights.
The Queen also holds Privy Council meetings, gives audiences to her
ministers and officials in Britain and overseas, receives accounts of Cabinet
decisions, reads dispatches and signs state papers. Provision has been made
to appoint a regent to perform these royal functions should the Queen be
totally incapacitated. In the event of her partial incapacity or absence
abroad, the Queen may delegate certain royal functions to the Counsellors of
State, who are members of the royal family.
THE POWERS OF PARLIAMENT
The three elements which make up Parliament - the Queen, the House of
Lords and the elected House of Commons - are constituted on different
principles. They meet together only on occasions of symbolic significance
such as the state opening of Parliament, when the Commons are summoned
by the Queen to the House of Lords. The agreement of all three elements is

normally required for legislation, but that of the Queen is given as a matter
of course to Bills sent to her.
Parliament can legislate for Britain as a whole, or for any part of the
country. It can also legislate for the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man,
which are Crown dependencies and not part of Britain. They have local
legislatures which make laws on island affairs.
As there are no legal restraints imposed by a written constitution,
Parliament may legislate as it pleases, subject to Britain's obligations as a
member of the European Union. It can make or change any law; and can
overturn established conventions or turn them into law. It can even prolong
its own life beyond the normal period without consulting the electorate.
In practice, however, Parliament does not assert its supremacy in this
way. Its members bear in mind the common law and normally act in
accordance with precedent. The validity of an Act of Parliament, once
passed, cannot be disputed in the law courts. The House of Commons is
directly responsible to the electorate, and in this century the House of Lords
has recognised the supremacy of the elected chamber. The system of party
government helps to ensure that Parliament legislates with its responsibility
to the electorate in mind.

THE FUNCTIONS OF PARLIAMENT

The main functions of Parliament are:
to pass laws;
to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work
of' government;
to scrutinise government policy and administration, including
proposals for expenditure;

 to debate the major issues of the day.

In carrying out these functions Parliament helps to bring the relevant facts
and issues before the electorate. By custom, Parliament is also informed
before all important international treaties and agreements are ratified. The
making of treaties is, however, a royal prerogative exercised on the advice
of the Government and is not subject to parliamentary approval.

THE MEETING OF PARLIAMENT

Parliament has a maximum duration of five years, but in practice general
elections are usually held before the end of this term. The maximum life has
been prolonged by legislation in are circumstances such as the two world
wars. Parliament is dissolved and writs for a general election are ordered by
the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The life of a Parliament is divided into sessions. Each usually lasts one
year normally beginning and ending in October or November. There are
'adjournments' at night, at weekends, at Christmas, Easter and the late
Spring Bank Holiday, and during long summer break usually starting in late
July. The average number of 'sitting' days in a session is about 160 in the
House of Commons and about 145 in the House of Lords. At the start of
each session the Queen's speech to Parliament outlines the Government's
policies and proposed legislative programme. Each session is ended by
prorogation. Parliament then 'stands prorogued' for about a week until the
new session opens.
Public Bills which have not been passed by the end of the session are
lost.

THE HOUSE OF LORDS

The House of Lords consists of all hereditary peers and peeresses of
England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom; life peers created
to assist the House in its judicial duties (Lords of Appeal or 'law lords'); all
other life peers; and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of
London, Durham and Winchester, and the 21 senior bishops of the Church of
England.
Hereditary peerages carry a right to sit in the House provided they
claim and are aged 21 years or over. However, anyone succeeding to a
peerage may, within 12 months of succession, disclaim that peerage for his
or her free time. Disclaimants lose their right to sit in the House but gain the
right to vote and stand as candidates at parliamentary elections. Peerages,
both hereditary and life, are created by the sovereign on the advice of the
Prime Minister. They are usually granted in recognition of service in politics
or other walks of life because one of the political parties wishes to have the
recipient in the House of Lords. The House also provides a place in
Parliament for people who offer useful advice, but do not wish to be
involved in party politics. In addition, senior judges are given peerages as
Lords of Appeal.
In mid- 1997 there were 1,205 members of the House of Lords,
including the two archbishops and 24 bishops. There were 752 hereditary
peers who had succeeded to their titles, 10 hereditary peers who had had
their titles conferred on them, including the Prince of Wales, and 406 life
peers, of whom 21 were 'law lords'.
The House is presided over by the Lord Chancellor, who is ex-officio
Speaker of the House.

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The House of Commons consists of 659 Members of Parliament (MPs)
directly elected by voters in each of Britain's 659 parliamentary
constituencies. At present there are 120 women and nine black or Asian
MPs. Of the 659 seats, 529 are for England, 40 for Wales, 72 for Scotland
and 18 for Northern Ireland.
General elections are held after a Parliament has been dissolved and a
new one summoned by the Queen. When an MP dies or resigns, or is given a
peerage, a by-election takes place. Members are paid an annual salary of
43,860 from January 1997 and an office costs allowance of up to
47,568. There are also a number of other allowances, including travel
allowances, a supplement for London members and, for members with
constituencies a long way from London, subsistence allowances and
allowances for second homes.
Officers of the House of Commons
The chief officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker, elected by MPs
to preside over the House. Other officers include the three Deputy Speakers
who are elected by the House on the nomination of the Government but are
drawn from the opposition as well as the government party. They, like the
Speaker, neither speak nor vote other than in their official capacity.
Permanent officers who are not MPs include the Clerk of the House
of Commons, who is the principal adviser to the Speaker on the Commons'
privileges and procedures, and the Sergeant-at-Arms, who waits on the
Speaker, and is responsible for security.

GOVERNMENT
The Government is formed by the party with majority support in the
Commons. The Queen appoints its leader as Prime Minister. As head of the
Government, the Prime Minister appoints about 100 ministers, of whom
about 20 are in the Cabinet the senior group which takes major policy
decisions. Ministers are collectively responsible for government decisions
and individually responsible for their own government departments. The
largest minority party forms the official Opposition, with its own leader and
shadow cabinet. The Opposition has a duty to challenge government
policies and to present an alternative programme.
Policies are implemented by government departments and executive
agencies staffed by politically impartial civil servants. They serve the
government of the day regardless of its political complexion.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life considers the conduct of
MPs and civil servants and makes recommendations designed to ensure, that
the highest standards are maintained.

Citizen's Charter
The Citizen's Charter, launched in 1991, aims to raise the standard of public
services and make them more responsive to their users. The Charter, which
applies to all public services and privatised utilities, sets out a number of
key levels of service which users of public services are entitled to expect.
Most major public services have published separate charters.

Civil Service
The number of civil servants fell from 751,000 in 1976 to 476,000 in April
1997, reflecting the Government's policy of controlling the cost of the Civil
Service and of improving its efficiency.
The Next Steps Programme, launched in 1988, aims to deliver
government services more efficiently, and effectively. It has involved setting
tip, as far as is practicable, separate units or agencies to perform the
executive functions of government for example, the payment of social
security benefits and the issuing of passports and drivers' licences.
A Civil Service Code provides a statement of the constitutional
framework within which all civil servants work, and the values they are
expected to uphold.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Elected local authorities exercise, powers and duties given to them by
Parliament. These include providing housing, education, personal social
services, police and fire services. Local authorities raise revenue through the
council lax (a local tax on domestic property), although their revenue
spending is financed primarily by grants from central government and by the
redistribution of revenue from the national non-domestic rate (a property tax
levied on business and other non-domestic properties)
The structure of local government in England, Scotland and Wales has
changed during the last five years:
in some non-metropolitan areas in England the two-tier structure of
counties and smaller districts has been replaced by single -tier or unitary

authorities, especially in larger cities; the restructuring was completed by

April 1998.
in Scotland in April 1996, 29 new single-tier councils replaced the
previous nine regional and 53 district councils three islands councils have
remained in being;
in Wales, also in April 1996, 22 single-tier authorities replaced the
previous eight county, councils and 37 district councils.

GRAMMAR FILE

Verb Structures and Patterns

This guide provides a look at common verb structures and patterns

used in English. Each structure is explained and an example of correct
usage is given.
Verb Type

Explanation

Examples
-They're

Intransitive

An intransitive verb does not take a

sleeping.

direct object

-They arrived
late.

A transitive verb takes a direct

Transitive

object. The direct object can be a

noun, a pronoun or a clause.
A linking verb is followed by a noun

Linking

or adjective which refers to the

subject of the verb.

Verb Patterns

-They bought
the sweater.
-He watched
them.
-The meal looked
wonderful.

Verb patterns are common in English. When two verbs are used, it
is especially important to notice which form the second verb takes
(infinitive - to do - base form - do - verb + ing - doing).
Verb Pattern

Structure
This is one of the most

verb + infinitive

common verb combination

forms.

verb + verb +
ing

This is one of the most

common verb combination
forms.

Examples
-I waited to begin
dinner.
-They wanted to
come to the party.
-They

enjoyed

listening

to

the

music.
-They

regretted

spending so much
time on the project.

An indirect object is

-I bought her a

usually placed before a

book.

direct object when a verb

She asked him the

takes both an IO and DO.

question.

verb + object +

This is the most common

-She asked her to

infinitive

form when a verb is

find a place to stay.

verb + indirect
object + direct
object

followed by both an object

and a verb.

-They instructed

them to open the

envelope.
-She made her
verb + object +
base form
(infinitive
without to)

finish her
This form is used with a

homework.

few verbs (let, help and

-They let him go to

make).

the concert.
-He helped him
paint the house.
-I observed them

verb + object +
verb + ing

This form is less common

painting the house.

than verb + object +

-I heard her

infinitive.

singing in the
living room.
-She told him that
she would worker

verb + object +

Use this form for a clause

harder.

clause with that

beginning with that.

-He informed him

that he was going
to resign.

verb + object +

Use this form for a clause

-They were

clause with wh-

beginning with wh- (why,

instructed where to

when, where)

go.

-She told me why

she had done it.
This form is often used
verb + object +

when someone does

past participle

something for someone

else.

-He had his car

washed.
-They want the
report finished
immediately

Compound Words

Definition
In English, words, particularly adjectives and nouns, are combined into
compound structures in a variety of ways. And once they are formed, they
sometimes metamorphose over time. A common pattern is that two words fire
fly, say will be joined by a hyphen for a time fire-fly and then be joined
into one word firefly. In this respect, a language like German, in which words
are happily and immediately linked one to the other, might seem to have an

advantage. There is only one sure way to know how to spell compounds in
English: use an authoritative dictionary.
There are three forms of compound words:
the closed form, in which the words are melded together, such as firefly,
secondhand, softball, childlike, crosstown, redhead, keyboard, makeup,
notebook;
the hyphenated form, such as daughter-in-law, master-at-arms, over-thecounter, six-pack, six-year-old, mass-produced;
and the open form, such as post office, real estate, middle class, full
moon, half sister, attorney general.
How a word modified by an adjective "a little school," "the yellow butter"
is different from a compound word " a high school," "the peanut butter" is
a nice and philosophical question. It clearly has something to do with the degree
to which the preceding word changes the essential character of the noun, the
degree to which the modifier and the noun are inseparable. If you were
diagramming a sentence with a compound word, you would probably keep the
words together, on the same horizontal line.
Modifying compounds are often hyphenated to avoid confusion. The New York
Public Library's Writer's Guide points out that an old-furniture salesman clearly
deals in old furniture, but an old furniture salesman would be an old man. We
probably would not have the same ambiguity, however, about a used car dealer.
When compounded modifiers precede a noun, they are often hyphenated: parttime teacher, fifty-yard-wide field, fire-resistant curtains, high-speed chase.
When those same modifying words come after the noun, however, they are not
hyphenated: a field fifty yards wide, curtains that are fire resistant, etc. The
second-rate opera company gave a performance that was first rate.
Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives are hyphenated when
compounded with other modifiers: the highest-priced car, the shorter-term loan.
But this is not always the case: the most talented youngster. Adverbs, words
ending in -ly, are not hyphenated when compounded with other modifiers: a
highly rated bank, a partially refunded ticket, publicly held securities.
Sometimes hyphenated modifiers lose their hyphens when they become
compound nouns: A clear decision-making process was evident in their decision
making. The bluish grey was slowly disappearing from the bluish-grey sky. This
is not always so, however: your high-rise apartment building is also known as a
high-rise.
When modifying a person with his or her age, the compounded phrase is
hyphenated: my six-year-old son. However, when the age comes after the

person, we don't use a hyphen. My son is six years old. He is, however, a sixyear-old.
Plurals and Possessives
Most dictionaries will give variant spellings of compound plurals. When you
have more than one truck filled with sand, do you have several truckfuls or
trucksful? The dictionary will give you both, with the first spelling usually
preferred. (And the same is true of teaspoonfuls, cupfuls, etc.) The dictionary
will help you discover that only one spelling is acceptable for some compounds
like passersby.
For hyphenated forms, the pluralizing -s is usually attached to the element that is
actually being pluralized: daughters-in-law, half-moons, mayors-elect. The
Chicago Manual of Style says that "hyphenated and open compounds are
regularly made plural by the addition of the plural inflection to the element that
is subject to the change in number" and gives as examples "fathers-in-law,"
"sergeants-in-arms," "doctors of philosophy," "and courts-martial" (196). The
NYPL Writer's Guide puts it this way: "the most significant word generally
the noun takes the plural form. The significant word may be at the beginning,
middle, or end of the term" (396). And then we get examples such as "attorneys
at law," "bills of fare," chiefs of staff," notaries public," assistant attorneys
general," "higher-ups," "also-rans," and "go-betweens."
Note: some dictionaries will list "attorney generals" along with "attorneys
general" as acceptable plurals of that office. Whether that's a matter of caving in
to popular usage or an inability to determine the "significant word" is unknown.
As a general rule, then, the plural form of an element in a hierarchical term
belongs to the base element in the term, regardless of the base element's
placement:

first sergeants
sergeants major
sergeants first class
colonel generals [Russian]
lieutenant generals
lieutenant colonels
apprentice, journeyman, and master mechanics
deputy librarians
deputy assistant secretaries of state

The possessive of a hyphenated compound is created by attaching an apostrophe

-s to the end of the compound itself: my daughter-in-law's car, a friend of mine's

car. To create the possessive of pluralized and compounded forms, a writer is

wise to avoid the apostrophe -s form and use an "of" phrase (the "post genitive")
instead: the meeting of the daughters-in-law, the schedule of half-moons.
Otherwise, the possessive form becomes downright weird: the daughters-inlaw's meeting, friends of mine's cars.
One of the most difficult decisions to make about possessives and plurals of
compound words occurs when you can't decide whether the first noun in a
compound structure is acting as a noun that ought to be showing possession or
as what is called an attributive noun, essentially an adjective. In other words, do
we write that I am going to a writers conference or to a writers' conference? The
Chicago Style Manual suggests that if singular nouns can act as attributive
nouns city government, tax relief then plural nouns should be able to act
as attributive nouns: consumers group, teachers union. This principle is not
universally endorsed, however, and writers must remember to be consistent
within a document.
Exceptions include:
compounds in which the second element is capitalized or a number:
anti-Semitic, pre-1998, post-Freudian
compounds which need hyphens to avoid confusion
un-ionized (as distinguished from unionized), co-op
compounds in which a vowel would be repeated (especially to avoid confusion)
co-op, semi-independent, anti-intellectual (but reestablish, reedit)
compounds consisting of more than one word
non-English-speaking, pre-Civil War
compounds that would be difficult to read without a hyphen
pro-life, pro-choice, co-edited
Also, when we combine compound nouns, we would use a hyphen with the first,
but not the last: when under- and overdeveloped nations get together. . . .

Plural Noun Forms

The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter s.

more than one snake = snakes

more than one ski = skis
more than one Barrymore = Barrymores

Words that end in -ch, x, s or s-like sounds, however, will require an -es for the
plural:

more than one witch = witches

more than one box = boxes
more than one gas = gases
more than one bus = buses
more than one kiss = kisses
more than one Jones = Joneses

Note that some dictionaries list "busses" as an acceptable plural for "bus."
Presumably, this is because the plural "buses" looks like it ought to rhyme with
the plural of "fuse," which is "fuses." "Buses" is still listed as the preferable
plural form. "Busses" is the plural, of course, for "buss," a seldom used word for
"kiss."
There are several nouns that have irregular plural forms. Plurals formed in this
way are sometimes called mutated (or mutating) plurals.

more than one child = children

more than one woman = women
more than one man = men
more than one person = people
more than one goose = geese
more than one mouse = mice
more than one barracks = barracks
more than one deer = deer

And, finally, there are nouns that maintain their Latin or Greek form in the
plural. (See media and data and alumni, below.)

more than one nucleus = nuclei

more than one syllabus = syllabi
more than one focus = foci
more than one fungus = fungi
more than one cactus = cacti (cactuses is acceptable)
more than one thesis = theses
more than one crisis = crises*
more than one phenomenon = phenomena
more than one index = indices (indexes is acceptable)
more than one appendix = appendices (appendixes is acceptable)
more than one criterion = criteria

*Note the pronunciation of this word, crises: the second syllable sounds like ease. More than
one base in the game of baseball is bases, but more than one basis for an argument, say, is
also bases, and then we pronounce the word basease.

A handful of nouns appear to be plural in form but take a singular verb:

The news is bad.

Gymnastics is fun to watch.
Economics/mathematics/statistics is said to be difficult. ("Economics" can
sometimes be a plural concept, as in "The economics of the situation
demand that . . . .")

Numerical expressions are usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals
within a numerical group are acting individually:

Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money.

One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer.
One-half of the faculty have doctorates.
Fifty percent of the students have voted already.

And another handful of nouns might seem to be singular in nature but take a
plural form and always use a plural verb:

My pants are torn. (Nowadays you will sometimes see this word as a
singular "pant" [meaning one pair of pants] especially in clothing ads, but
most writers would regard that as an affectation.)
Her scissors were stolen.
The glasses have slipped down his nose again.

When a noun names the title of something or is a word being used as a word, it
is singular whether the word takes a singular form or not.

Faces is the name of the new restaurant downtown.

Okies, which most people regard as a disparaging word, was first used to
describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s.
Chelmsley Brothers is the best moving company in town.
Postcards is my favorite novel.
The term Okies was used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the
1930s. (In this sentence, the word Okies is actually an appositive for the
singular subject, "term.")

Plural Compound Nouns

Compound words create special problems when we need to pluralize them. As a
general rule, the element within the compound that word that is pluralized will
receive the plural -s, but it's not always that simple. Daughters-in-law follows
the general rule, but cupfuls does not.

Problem Children
Many careful writers insist that the words data and media are Latin plurals and
must, therefore, be used as plural words. The singular Latin forms of these
words, however, are seldom used: datum as a single bit of information or
medium as a single means of communication. Many authorities nowadays
approve sentences like My data is lost. and The media is out to get the President.
Even textbooks in computer science are beginning to use "data" as a singular.
Alumni and alumnae remain problematic. The plural of masculine singular
alumnus is alumni; the plural of feminine singular alumna is alumnae. In
traditional Latin, the masculine plural form, alumni, could include both genders.
This does not go over well with some female alums. We note, furthermore, that
Vassar College, which now has both, has lists of alumni and alumnae. Hartford
College for Women, we assume, has only alumnae. In its publication style
manual, Wesleyan University approves of alumni/ae. The genderless graduate
and the truncated and informal alum have much to commend them.
Special Cases
With words that end in a consonant and a y, you'll need to change the y to an i
and add es.

more than one baby = babies

more
than
one
gallery
=
galleries
(Notice the difference between this and galleys, where the final y is not
preceded by a consonant.)
more
than
one
reality
=
realities
This rule does not apply to proper nouns:
more than one Kennedy = Kennedys

Words that end in o create special problems.

more than one potato = potatoes

more
than
one
hero
=
. . . however . . .
more than one memo = memos
more
than
one
cello
=
. . . and for words where another vowel comes before the o . . .
more than one stereo = stereos

heroes
cellos

Plurals of words that end in -f or -fe usually change the f sound to a v sound and
add s or -es.

more than one knife = knives

more than one leaf = leaves
more than one hoof = hooves
more than one life = lives
more than one self = selves
more than one elf = elves

There are, however, exceptions:

more than one dwarf = dwarfs

more than one roof = roofs

When in doubt, as always, consult a dictionary. Some dictionaries, for instance,

will list both wharfs and wharves as acceptable plural forms of wharf.

Collective Nouns, Company Names, Family Names, Sports Teams

There are, further, so called collective nouns, which are singular when we think
of them as groups and plural when we think of the individuals acting within the
whole (which happens sometimes, but not often): audience, band, class,
committee, family, flock, group, heap, jury, kind, lot, number, public, staff, team.
Thus, if we're talking about eggs, we could say "A dozen is probably not
enough." But if we're talking partying with our friends, we could say, "A dozen
are coming over this afternoon." The jury delivers its verdict. [But] The jury
came in and took their seats. We could say the Tokyo String Quartet is one of the
best string ensembles in the world, but we could say the Beatles were some of
the most famous singers in history. Generally, band names and musical groups
take singular or plural verbs depending on the form of their names: "The Mamas
and the Papas were one of the best groups of the 70s" and "Metallica is my
favorite band."
Note that "the number" is a singular collective noun. "The number of applicants
is steadily increasing." "A number," on the other hand, is a plural form: "There
are several students in the lobby. A number are here to see the president."
Collective nouns are count nouns which means they, themselves, can be
pluralized: a university has several athletic teams and classes. And the
immigrant families kept watch over their herds and flocks.
The word following the phrase one of the (as an object of the preposition of) will
always be plural.

One of the reasons we do this is that it rains a lot in spring.

One of the students in this room is responsible.

Notice, though, that the verb ("is") agrees with one, which is singular, and not
with the object of the preposition, which is always plural.
When a family name (a proper noun) is pluralized, we almost always simply
add an "s." So we go to visit the Smiths, the Kennedys, the Grays, etc.When a
family name ends in s, x, ch, sh, or z, however, we form the plural by added -es,
as in the Marches, the Joneses, the Maddoxes, the Bushes, the Rodriguezes. Do
not form a family name plural by using an apostrophe; that device is reserved for
creating possessive forms.
When a proper noun ends in an "s" with a hard "z" sound, we don't add any
ending to form the plural: "The Chambers are coming to dinner" (not the
Chamberses); "The Hodges used to live here" (not the Hodgeses). There are
exceptions even to this: we say "The Joneses are coming over," and we'd
probably write "The Stevenses are coming, too." A modest proposal: women
whose last names end in "s" (pronounced "z") should marry and take the names
of men whose last names do not end with that sound, and eventually this
problem will disappear.
The names of companies and other organizations are usually regarded as
singular, regardless of their ending: "General Motors has announced its fall
lineup of new vehicles." Try to avoid the inconsistency that is almost inevitable
when you think of corporate entities as a group of individuals: "General Motors
has announced their fall lineup of new vehicles." But note that some
inconsistency is acceptable in all but the most formal writing: "Ford has
announced its breakup with Firestone Tires. Their cars will no longer use tires
built by Firestone." Some writers will use a plural verb when a plural
construction such as "Associates" is part of the company's title or when the title
consists of a series of names: "Upton, Vernon, and Gridley are moving to new
law offices next week" or "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego & Associates have
won all their cases this year." Singular verbs and pronouns would be correct in
those sentences, also.
The names of sports teams, on the other hand, are treated as plurals, regardless
of the form of that name. We would write that "The Yankees have signed a new
third baseman" and "The Yankees are a great organization" (even if we're Red
Sox fans) and that "For two years in a row, the Utah Jazz have attempted to draft
a big man." When we refer to a team by the city in which it resides, however, we
use the singular, as in "Dallas has attempted to secure the services of two
assistant coaches that Green Bay hopes to keep." (This is decidedly not a British
practice. In the UK, the city or country names by which British newspapers refer

to soccer teams, for example, are used as plurals a practice that seems odd
and inconsistent to American ears: "A minute's silence will precede the game at
Le Stadium today, when Toulouse play Munster, and tomorrow at Lansdowne
Road, when Leinster attempt to reach their first European final by beating
Perpignan" [report in the online London Times].)
Plurals and Apostrophes
We use an apostrophe to create plural forms in two limited situations: for
pluralized letters of the alphabet and when we are trying to create the plural
form of a word that refers to the word itself. Here we also should italicize this
"word as word," but not the 's ending that belongs to it. Do not use the
apostrophe+s to create the plural of acronyms (pronounceable abbreviations
such as laser and IRA and URL*) and other abbreviations. (A possible exception
to this last rule is an acronym that ends in "S": "We filed four NOS's in that
folder.")

Jeffrey got four A's on his last report card.

Towanda learned very quickly to mind her p's and q's.
You have fifteen and's in that last paragraph.

Notice that we do not use an apostrophe -s to create the plural of a word-initself. For instance, we would refer to the "ins and outs" of a mystery, the "yeses
and nos" of a vote (NYPL Writer's Guide to Style and Usage), and we assume
that Theodore Bernstein knew what he was talking about in his book Dos,
Don'ts & Maybes of English Usage. We would also write "The shortstop made
two spectacular outs in that inning." But when we refer to a word-as-a-word, we
first italicize it I pointed out the use of the word out in that sentence. and
if necessary, we pluralize it by adding the unitalicized apostrophe -s "In his
essay on prepositions, Jose used an astonishing three dozen out's." This practice
is not universally followed, and in newspapers, you would find our example
sentence written without italics or apostrophe: "You have fifteen ands in that last
paragraph."
Some abbreviations have embedded plural forms, and there are often
inconsistencies in creating the plurals of these words. The speed of an internal
combustion engine is measured in "revolutions per minute" or rpm (lower case)
and the efficiency of an automobile is reported in "miles per gallon" or mpg (no
"-s" endings). On the other hand, baseball players love to accumulate "runs
batted in," a statistic that is usually reported as RBIs (although it would not be
terribly unusual to hear that someone got 100 RBI last year and some
baseball commentators will talk about "ribbies," too). Also, the U.S. military
provides "meals ready to eat" and those rations are usually described as MREs

(not MRE). When an abbreviation can be used to refer to a singular thing a

run batted in, a meal ready-to-eat, a prisoner of war it's surely a good idea to
form the plural by adding "s" to the abbreviation: RBIs, MREs, POWs. (Notice
that no apostrophe is involved in the formation of these plurals. Whether
abbreviations like these are formed with upper- or lower-case letters is a matter
of great mystery; only your dictionary editor knows for sure.)
Notice, furthermore, that we do not use an apostrophe to create plurals in the
following:

The 1890s in Europe are widely regarded as years of social decadence.

I have prepared 1099s for the entire staff.
Rosa and her brother have identical IQs, and they both have PhDs from
Harvard.
She has over 400 URLs* in her bookmark file.

Authority for this last paragraph: Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook by Ann
Raimes. Houghton Mifflin: New York. 1996.
Singular Subjects, Plural Predicates, etc.
We frequently run into a situation in which a singular subject is linked to a plural
predicate:

My favorite breakfast is cereal with fruit, milk, orange juice, and toast.

Sometimes, too, a plural subject can be linked to singular predicate:

Mistakes in parallelism are the only problem here.

In such situations, remember that the number (singular or plural) of the subject,
not the predicate, determines the number of the verb.
A special situation exists when a subject seems not to agree with its predicate.
For instance, when we want each student to see his or her counselor (and each
student is assigned to only one counselor), but we want to avoid that "his or her"
construction by pluralizing, do we say "Students must see their counselors" or
"Students must see their counselor"? The singular counselor is necesssary to
avoid the implication that students have more than one counselor apiece. Do we
say "Many sons dislike their father or fathers"? We don't mean to suggest that
the sons have more than one father, so we use the singular father. Theodore
Bernstein, in Dos, Don'ts and Maybes of English Usage, says that "Idiomatically
the noun applying to more than one person remains in the singular when (a) it
represents a quality or thing possessed in common ("The audience's curiosity

was aroused"); or (b) it is an abstraction ("The judges applied their reason to the
problem"), or (c) it is a figurative word ("All ten children had a sweet tooth")
(203). Sometimes good sense will have to guide you. We might want to say
"Puzzled, the children scratched their head" to avoid the image of multi-headed
children, but "The audience rose to their foot" is plainly ridiculous and about to
tip over.
In "The boys moved their car/cars," the plural would indicate that each boy
owned a car, the singular that the boys (together) owned one car (which is quite
possible). It is also possible that each boy owned more than one car. Be prepared
for such situations, and consider carefully the implications of using either the
singular or the plural. You might have to avoid the problem by going the
opposite direction of pluralizing: moving things to the singular and talking about
what each boy did.
*The jury still seems to be out on whether URL (acronym for Uniform [or
Universal] Resource Locator), the address of a Website on the World Wide Web,
should be pronounced like the name of your Uncle Earl or as a series of letters:
U*R*L. The information technology experts at the college where I work use the
"earl" pronunciation, and one would have to ask why you'd want to say "youare-ell" when a simple "earl" would suffice. In either case, though, the plural of
URL would be spelled URLs. The New York Times, by the way, would insist on
U.R.L.'s because their style guide requires that everything be capitalized in
headlines and URLS would look dumb in a headline. So use URLs unless you're
writing for the New York Times.
Intensifying Adjectives
Intensifying Adjectives: Important Adjective Collocations
A collocation is a word pair, in this case adjective and noun, that always goes
together. There are no specific rules for these collocations, however, it is
important to learn some of the standard collocations. Here is a guide to
collocations with deep, heavy, high (low) and strong.
Deep
deep depression, deep devotion, a deep feeling, deep pockets, deep
sleep, in deep thought, in deep trouble
Heavy

a heavy drinker
heavy rain
a heavy sleeper

a heavy smoker
heavy snow
heavy traffic

High - Low. Notice that a number of nouns (but not all) which take
'high' also take 'low'.
high - or low - cost
high - or low - density
high - or low - energy
high - or low - esteem
a high - or low expectation (of)
a high - or low - level (of)

a high - or low - opinion (of someone or

something)
high - or low - pressure
a - or low - high price
high quality
high speed

Strong
strong criticism
strong denial
a strong feeling
a strong opinion (about something)

a strong sense (of)

a strong smell
a strong taste

Intensifying Adjectives
Intensifying Adjectives: Intensifying Non-Physical Objects
When describing physical objects you can use a wide variety of adjectives such
as: large, big, tiny, minuscule, small, etc. However, when describing nouns that
are not physical (e.g. joy, anger, wealth) you need to pay careful attention to the
choice of intensifying adjectives. This feature provides a guide to the use of the
most common intensifying adjectives for non-physical nouns.
Absolute / Complete / Total / Utter
Absolute, complete, total and utter are used to express strong
feelings, extreme situations, and other events - especially negative
experiences.
absolute agony

total ecstasy

complete astonishment
total bliss
(an) utter catastrophe
absolute despair

utter fury
a complete idiot
utter loathing
total madness

Big
Big tends to describe a happening or a type of person. It is not
usually used with uncountable nouns.
Happenings

Types of Persons

a big decision
a big disappointment
a big improvement
a big mistake
a big surprise

a big eater
a big dreamer
a big drinker
a big spender
a big talker

Great
Great usually describes nouns which express feelings or qualities.
great admiration
great anger
in great detail
(a) great disappointment
great enjoyment
great excitement
a great failure
great fun
great happiness
great joy
at great length

a great number (of)

great power
great pride
a great quantity (of)
great sensitivity
great skill
great strength
great understanding
great wealth

Large
Large is often used with nouns concerning numbers and
measurements. It is not usually used with uncountable nouns.

a large amount
a large number (of)
a large population

a large proportion
a large quantity
a large scale

BIBLIOGRAPHY
*** Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman, 1995
*** Britains System of Government, Foreign and Commonwealth
*** Romanian Legislation, vol.38, Bucureti, 1999
*** Codul penal romn, Ed. Lumina Lex, Bucureti, 1997
*** Codul civil romn
*** Codul juristului
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Cazan, I., Curtui, A.,
Brookes, M., Holden, D., Engleza pentru juriti, Ed. Teora, Bucureti, 1997
Hutchinson, W., 'Barrister's rights go in strategic reforms'.
Dyer, C., The Guardian, 8 December 1989

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Press, 1987
Grillot, Harold, J., Introduction to Law and the Legal System, Houghton
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Marsh, S., B., Soulsby, J., Outlines of English Law, London: McGrow-Hill,
1990
OConnell, Sue, Focus on Advanced English C.A.E., Longman, 1999
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