Grammar help with this sentence?

College Confidential Community
1

<p>Helping sponsor a less-fortunate child to attend school in an impecunious country and having field days with autistic children at my school have allowed me to be cognizant of our world’s diverse population. </p>

<p>OR</p>

<p>Helping sponsor a less-fortunate child to attend school in an impecunious country and having field days with autistic children at my school has allowed me to be cognizant of our world’s diverse population.</p>

2

<p>have</p>

<p>10char</p>

3

<p>Thank you very much :)</p>

4

<p>I think “has” is correct in this case because each clause is treated separately. If you want to use “have” you would say “…have BOTH…”. And, I would say ‘…has made me more aware of…’ rather than “…allowed me to be more cognizant…” The former flows better while the latter can be a tongue twister.</p>

<p>Also, I’d use another word for penniless, as “impecunious” sounds too stilted. Maybe ‘impoverished’ would fit better.</p>

<p>But that’s more than you asked!</p>

5

<p>“has”</p>

<p>but it’s probably too late anyways…</p>

<p>oh well</p>

6

<p>Have. It’s a compound subject, connected by “and.”</p>

<p>The clauses are not treated separately.</p>

<p>I would recast the sentence, though. It’s a bit awkward. Maybe break it up into two or more sentences. And get rid of impecunious.</p>

7

<p>Has </p>

<p>10 char</p>

8

<p>…I retract my earlier statement</p>

9

<p>HAVE!! Subjects of verb make for the plural form of the verb, indubitably!</p>

10

<p>I think I ‘has’ erred!</p>

11

<p>This is how I would redo the sentence:</p>

<p>I have become aware of our world’s diverse population by helping to enable a child in an impoverished country to attend school. I also organized field days with autistic children.</p>

<p>Or something like that. Shorter sentences can be more effective. If you have to work to keep track of the subject, that’s not a good thing. Your readers certainly don’t want to work that hard.</p>

12

<p>Good point, Lurk,</p>

<p>One thing, though, drop the first “to”, so that it would read “…by helping enable a child in an impoverished country to attend…” - Now you have just one “to” and it flows better.</p>