a pair of newly-wed

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Vincent Teo

#511415 Thu, 08 May 08 11:22 PM

CAn I say,

A pair of newly-wed is cutting the wedding cake.

Vincent Teo

Joined on Sat, Mar 31 2007

Advanced Member (2,501)

Weddings

New2grammar

#511420 Thu, 08 May 08 11:32 PM

I'm not sure whether native speakers refer to a bride and bridegroom as newlyweds during the ceremony. I usually hear it used after. So, I would say

The (or if you are a passerby - A) bride and bridegroom are cutting the cake together.

New2grammar

Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006

Advanced Member (2,824)

MrPedantic

#511427 Thu, 08 May 08 11:53 PM

At the time of the cutting of the cake, the couple are already married (perhaps already well on the way to divorce); so "newly-weds" would be possible.

I myself would use a plural verb, i.e.

1. A pair of newly-weds are cutting the cake.

But other members would probably prefer "is"!

Best wishes,

MrP