Linked Questions

1 vote
2 answers
881 views

Giving an example of a "problem" where the example is plural [duplicate]

I've got this sentence here: The most recent problem I can think of is personal knowledge management systems. That seems grammatically incorrect because of the mismatch between the singular ...
Mark Bao's user avatar
  • 187
1 vote
1 answer
223 views

plural form or singular form after a subject clause [duplicate]

Which of the following is correct? What matters are people. What matters is people. What matter are people. Thank you.
Sen Foo's user avatar
  • 19
0 votes
1 answer
140 views

subject verb agreement: "the downside are the messages" [duplicate]

Which is the correct one: the big downside is the imperfect messages the user gets. the big downside are the imperfect messages the user gets. I am almost sure the second one is correct with "...
bolov's user avatar
  • 123
0 votes
1 answer
83 views

Grammatical rules pertaining to 'number shifts' [duplicate]

Thanks everybody for your enthusiasm for my previous questions. Now I have an additional question pertaining to a particular section of English grammar: "number shifts" For example: The problem with ...
nthntn's user avatar
  • 165
0 votes
1 answer
60 views

How to say "He is my spectacles"? [duplicate]

Assume that I am a blind person and am writing an essay about how my brother allows me to see the world (just like spectacles allow people with poor vision to see the world) through his conversations ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
84 views

Should I use 'is' or 'are' in ambiguous sentences like this one? [duplicate]

I understand that you should use 'is' for singular and 'are' for plural, but in this sentence I am not sure which applies. Take the sentence Bees are an important part of our ecosystem. Let's say I ...
Frostbitten's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
44 views

Can I say, “The alternative to it are private schools.”? [duplicate]

Is it possible to use this word order for the two subjects?
Maxi's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
0 answers
42 views

What is the correct conjugation for "The problem is/are the rules"? [duplicate]

I recently stumbled across the sentence below, but I'm not sure which version is correct (or more specifically, I personally am pretty sure it's the second one, but other people disagreed): The ...
PixelMaster's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
20 views

Should I use "is'' or "are'' in the sentence, "The next canonical choice IS the so-called slip boundary conditions...''? [duplicate]

Should I use "is" or "are" in this sentence? The next canonical choice [is/are] the so-called slip boundary conditions... I've struggled to find an answer for this question ...
Natasha's user avatar
21 votes
2 answers
18k views

Agreement in "[Singular Noun] Is/Are [Plural Noun]"?

My fish's native habitat is rice fields. My fish's native habitat are rice fields. Which one is correct? I'm pretty sure it's the first, since 'is' modifies 'habitat,' but it still sounds weird...
emragins's user avatar
  • 687
0 votes
0 answers
9k views

Is this correct pluralization? "it is these three.."

It is these three sentences that show why I am an expert orator Suppose that there are three paragraphs above this line that each talk about one of the three sentences being referenced. Should it be ...
Antecedent's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
956 views

Can singular nouns be compared to plural ones? [closed]

In the end of the Pink Panther episode "Sink Pink", the pink panther says: "Why can't Man be more like animals?" Does this comparison employ correct grammar? It sounds wrong to me. Link to ...
homework's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
108 views

copulation with uneven noun-phrases

One can use the copula to connect noun phrases of different number. Example: The conversational topic that kept us pleasantly chatting was the different Southern dialects in the US. Here it ...
Justin Dollman's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
131 views

Question about parts of a sentence

I have a question about this sentence: "The tarsier's most remarkable feature, however, is it's enormous eyes, which, relative to body size, are the largest eyes of any mammal." What part of the ...
BrainDefenestration's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
70 views

Subject in the sentence

The most common kind is the curves. The data is pairs of y and x. Are subjects of these sentences kind and data, which means that is is the predicator (not are), right? I am confused by the following ...
Elena Greg's user avatar

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