hsiaoyunh  +  603072 Wed, 03 Dec 08 06:38 AM Can I say: Who are eating my cake now? These kids are! Who is eating my cake now? These kids are! Thanks in advance. hsiaoyunh Joined on Thu, Sep 25 2008 New Member 46

	Yankee  +  603100 Wed, 03 Dec 08 07:11 AM hsiaoyunh “Can I say: Who are eating my cake now? NO  These kids are!  Who is eating my cake now? YES  These kids are!” Yankee Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006 Connecticut, USA Veteran Member 6,494 Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

	hsiaoyunh  +  603378 Wed, 03 Dec 08 01:00 PM What if the speaker has already known that there are more than one eating his/her cake? Is the question still the same as "Who is ..."? I think I'm confused if who is always single no matter what the number of people it represents is. Thank you in advance. hsiaoyunh

	Grammar Geek  +  603532 Wed, 03 Dec 08 04:14 PM When forming a question with the "Who" as the subject, generally use "is." Who is coming to the party? Who is in that crowd of people?   If you have a predicate nominative in the plural, then you can use "are." Who are those people? Who is that person? Who are the parents of this boy? Who is this boy's mother? Who are the invitees? (But: Who is invited?) Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,652 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Plurals, Predicates, Nominative

	CalifJim  +  603701 Wed, 03 Dec 08 07:22 PM hsiaoyunh “What if the speaker has already known that there are more than one eating his/her cake? Is the question still the same as "Who is ..."?” Yes.  It's still Who is ...? The choice between Who is/was ? and Who are/were ? is actually very simple. Use Who are/were? only when a plural noun phrase follows.  Otherwise, always use Who is/was ? Who are they?   Who was talking about it?   Who were the first people to inhabit North America?  Who was that?  Who are those men in the kitchen?   Who's saying it's a lie?   Who was giving you trouble about it?  Who were the guys who helped us that day?  Who was singing in the hallway?  Who were the singers?  Who is this I see before me? Who in the world are these interns you're talking about? CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,389 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Plurals, Nouns, Noun Phrases

	Elida  +  603713 Wed, 03 Dec 08 07:33 PM Plus, it's logical to use "is" . From the first moment you make the question, you cannot imagine (or you don't expect) more than 1 person eating your cake... And you can't start the question by asking "who ARE those people eating my cake" because it's easier to think that just a single person is eating your cake. Or when you ask "Who is at home" u don't say "who are at home" Elida Joined on Fri, Dec 15 2006 Tirana, Albania Full Member 236 Why "abbreviation" is such a long word??

	Yoong Liat  +  605125 Fri, 05 Dec 08 01:59 AM If you want to find out the members who are online, you will have to click on "Who's online?"  Notice that it is not "Who're on line?" Yoong Liat Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006 Veteran Member 6,757