5 Subject-Verb Disagreements

5 Subject-Verb Disagreements 5 Subject-Verb Disagreements 5 Subject-Verb Disagreements By Mark Nichol When crafting sentences, writers must take care to check that verbs are inflected to correspond with the subject- the word or phrase the verb pertains to- which is not necessarily the most adjacent noun. The following sentences, each discussed and revised beneath the examples, demonstrate the various pitfalls one can encounter with this issue. 1. Demonstrating effective continuous-monitoring programs have also helped leading institutions meet heightened regulatory expectations. The verb following programs pertains not to that word but to demonstrating- it is the act of demonstrating, not the programs, that has provided the assistance referred to here, so has is the correct form of the verb: â€Å"Demonstrating effective continuous-monitoring programs has also helped leading institutions meet heightened regulatory expectations.† 2. Nearly one in three organizations spend less than one million dollars annually on compliance with the regulation. In sentences such as this in which a phrase refers to a proportion of a whole in which the proportion is one, the verb should be singular: â€Å"Nearly one in three organizations spends less than one million dollars annually on compliance with the regulation.† 3. Implementing simplistic solutions based on symptomatic causes, or a single cause when there are multiple interacting causes, are highly likely to end in failure and disappointment. When two choices are presented as alternatives rather than as a combination, with or rather than and linking them, a singular verb is appropriate because it applies only to the first option: â€Å"Implementing simplistic solutions based on symptomatic causes, or a single cause when there are multiple interacting causes, is highly likely to end in failure and disappointment.† 4. The patchwork of federal and state regulations have left firms with great uncertainty about how to comply. The verb applies to the subject patchwork, not to the phrase modifying the subject, so has, not have, is correct: â€Å"The patchwork of federal and state regulations has left firms with great uncertainty about how to comply.† 5. I feel that each of these skills are crucial for this job. The subject of this sentence is each, not skills, so the associated verb must be singular: â€Å"I feel that each of these skills is crucial for this job.† 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:Types of RhymeCapitalization Rules for the Names of GamesEbook, eBook, ebook or e-book?

Calculate MD5 Hashing for a File or String Using Delphi

Calculate MD5 Hashing for a File or String Using Delphi The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm is a cryptographic hash function. MD5 is commonly used to check the integrity of files, like to make sure that a file has been unaltered. One example of this is when downloading a program online. If the software distributor gives out the MD5 hash of the file, you can produce the hash using Delphi and then compare the two values to make sure theyre the same. If theyre different, it means the file you downloaded is not the one you requested from the website, and therefore may be malicious. An MD5 hash value is 128-bits long but is typically read in its 32 digit hexadecimal  value. Finding the MD5 Hash Using Delphi Using Delphi, you can easily create a function to calculate the MD5 hash for any given file. All you need is included in the two units IdHashMessageDigest and idHash,  both of which are a part of  Indy. Heres the source code: uses IdHashMessageDigest, idHash; //returns MD5 has for a file function MD5(const fileName : string) : string; var   Ã‚  idmd5 : TIdHashMessageDigest5;   Ã‚  fs : TFileStream;   Ã‚  hash : T4x4LongWordRecord; begin   Ã‚  idmd5 : TIdHashMessageDigest5.Create;   Ã‚  fs : TFileStream.Create(fileName, fmOpenRead OR fmShareDenyWrite) ;   Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  result : idmd5.AsHex(idmd5.HashValue(fs)) ;   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  fs.Free;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  idmd5.Free;   Ã‚  end; end; Other Ways to Generate the MD5 Checksum Apart from using Delphi are other ways you can find the MD5 checksum of a file. One method is to use Microsoft File Checksum Integrity Verifier. Its a free program that can be used only on the Windows OS. MD5 Hash Generator is a website that does something similar, but instead of producing the MD5 checksum of a file, it does so from any string of letters, symbols, or numbers that you put in the input box.