How to cope when the news makes you feel depressed...
I found this sentence online but I am curious why we cannot use "make" here? Why is it makes when news is plural?
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1Who says you can't???– Hot LicksCommented Apr 1, 2020 at 2:25
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It is supported to use "make" or "makes" here??– Gerald KhoCommented Apr 1, 2020 at 2:29
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3Oh, I see what you're saying. I make, you make, he makes, it makes, they make. "It makes" is 3rd-person singular, and so "makes" is the proper verb form. Likewise, "the news" is singular (strange, I know) and so uses the 3rd-person singular form -- "makes".– Hot LicksCommented Apr 1, 2020 at 2:54
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Quite separately, did you notice "Why we can't use 'make' in this sentences" has more problems than the Question you hoped to Ask, which is partly why it belongs not here but in English Language Learners? "Why we can't use 'make' " could be acceptable in some longer sentences… Here, you needed "Why can we not use 'make' "… Does that difference make sense to you? Even beneath that "… this sentences" must always be "this sentence". Again, does that difference make sense to you?– Robbie GoodwinCommented Apr 9, 2020 at 19:15
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Perhaps the question would be clearer if you explained why you think it should be make. If I haven't got that right, please edit it again.– Andrew Leach ♦Commented May 9, 2020 at 12:12
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1 Answer
Here is why: Even though there is a "s" in the word "news", it does not make the word "news" plural. Therefore it is a singular word, which has to be followed by "makes", instead of "make".
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2To be precise - "news" is an uncountable noun, and uncountable nouns are treated as singular. It is not like there is the singular "news" and the plural "newses". Commented May 9, 2020 at 13:05