New answers tagged grammatical-number
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"XXXX it is, then" with plural nouns?
Is it possible to use "... it is, then" with plural nouns?
The example you give is somewhat idiomatic English. The "it" pronoun refers not to the apples, but to the chosen option.
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13
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"XXXX it is, then" with plural nouns?
Context:
Spoken language used in response to being told some other choice is not available or not germane to a situation.
Person 1: "I would really like to buy pears for pie as well."
Person ...
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2
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Copies of or a copy of?
If you consider the motion and letter to be one combined document, then it's singular "copy".
If they're two separate documents, then there are two copies -- one copy of the motion, and one ...
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2
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Why does 'scent' here use the singular form?
Your logic is fine. But English does not adhere to strict logical consistency—no natural language does. But there is some consistency here, namely that attributes are expressed in the singular in the ...
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Comparing a plural noun with a singular noun: "They [do something] like a bat"
Using the singular bat actually tells us something about how we are supposed to interpret the plural subject. As others have pointed out, the description of their behavior applies to each of them. It ...
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Comparing a plural noun with a singular noun: "They [do something] like a bat"
They're as bright as Einstein / the Moon
shows that there's no grammatical problem in pairing a plural-form subject with a single-form comparator.
They hang upside down like a bat
is rather ...
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Comparing a plural noun with a singular noun: "They [do something] like a bat"
These aren't really one-to-one comparisons, so plurality is not very important. "like a bat" and "as slow as a turtle" are almost set phrases, and you can use them to characterize ...
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If a high attrition rate is observed in a workforce, how do you state it as a characteristic of a generalized individual? Highly Mobile?
There are a number of reasons why people quit their jobs: to find a place with a lower cost of living; or they're having children and want to move back closer to family; or they get hired away in a ...
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What is the plural of "cost"?
'What are the costs involved in upgrading our office?', suggests there are several categories of expense, not just one.
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Amount of data or number of data?
I think there are several different points here that should be taken into account. I must state that the following is all anecdotal and based on my own observations.
First, there is the question of ...
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What is the plural of "cost"?
Note that on the Merriam-Webster site, they disclaim the accuracy of the "example" sentences at the bottom of each entry, as those are compiled from the web (not a reliable source for ...
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"As good a deal as you'll ever get"
The construction isn't all that "messy" pace Van Eynde et al.
It is saying that something, an instance of class X, is not likely to be less [adjective] than any other instance of class X, ...
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Is there anything wrong with the sentence "Donuts are not a part of healthy eating"?
Eating is an action. Doughnuts are not actions. So the sentence is a bit weird.
I suggest instead:
"Doughnuts are not part of a healthy diet"; or
"Doughnuts are not associated with ...
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Subject/Complement Agreement. How to describe problem with "The thing is/are the objects."
The only agreement rule is that finite verbs must agree with their subject. Period. There is no such thing as “subject–complement” agreement in English, be it grammatical or notional. The problem is ...
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Accepted
Which of these sentences is correct and why? "My favorite food is/are hamburger(s)"
The simple agreement rule* is that the number of the verb should correspond to the number of the grammatical subject. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (p499) states the rule as follows:
...
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Which of these sentences is correct and why? "My favorite food is/are hamburger(s)"
Food here means 'type of food' so it takes a singular verb.
In British English, hamburgers refers only to the patties, so (1) would be the most natural. In American English hamburger can mean the ...
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Is there anything wrong with the sentence "Donuts are not a part of healthy eating"?
My main quibble is with the term eating, in medical and self-help literature, diet is preferable.
Donuts (doughnuts) are not part of a healthy diet
Google Books: “part of a healthy diet”
Including ...
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Is there anything wrong with the sentence "Donuts are not a part of healthy eating"?
The use of the article does make a difference. In this sentence, the article does not sound very idiomatic. One gets the idea that healthy eating is made up of parts, which is not a usual point of ...
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Is there anything wrong with the sentence "Donuts are not a part of healthy eating"?
Both versions (with "part" and with "a part") are fine. As Cambridge notes (with the "[U]" and "[C]" annotations), part can be used as either a count noun or a ...
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