The "boy and girls" rule

Share on Facebook

Anonymous

#414436 Wed, 05 Sep 07 10:07 AM

Hi, I don't remember what rule this is called but I rememembered my English teacher taught me some rule that goes like this:

Boy and girls ARE ...

Boys and girl IS ...

My question is :

-What's the name of this rule?

-All you boys and girls IS/ARE?

Thank you!

Dennis

Anonymous

Mister Micawber

#414509 Wed, 05 Sep 07 01:33 PM

The 'rule' is that the verb agrees in number with the proximal (nearest) noun of the compound subject. But it doesn't work with 'and'-- it works with 'or':

A boy or three girls are meeting me at the station.
Three girls or a boy is meeting me at the station.

But:

Three girls and a boy are meeting me at the station.

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

Veteran Member (22,610)

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

Verbs, Nouns, Numbers, Compound Subjects