ˋˋAgreement mismatch'' between sort/kind/type and the determiner

Abstract

A singular countable noun in English normally needs a determiner and they should agree in number. However, there is a type of noun phrase, such as ‘these sort of skills’, which does not conform to this generalisation. As a singular countable common noun, the noun ‘sort’ requires a determiner, but there is an agreement mismat ch here: ‘sort’ is singular but the determiner is plural. Rather, the determiner agrees with the NP after the preposition ‘of’. There are several po ssible analyses that might be proposed, but the best analysis is the one in which ‘sort’ and the preposition ‘of’ are ‘functors’, non-heads selecting heads.