In Constructions^x, Plurals^x

'The Right Word at the Right Time' states as follows: There is an apple and pears for dessert. There are apples and a pear for dessert. Merriam-Webster 'Guide to English Usage' states as follows: When a compound subject follows the verb and the first element is singular, the verb may...

Kathy456 wrote:1. There is a boy & a girl in the playground. 2. There is a boy, a girl & an old man in the playground. 3. There is a boy & two girls in the playground. 4. There are two girls & a boy in the playground. KathyThis topic has been discussed in another thread.Some...

Which is correct : a- Neither of us has anything in common. b- Neither of us have anything in common. Sometimes I see that this construction is dealt with as singular and sometimes as plural. Thank you.

Hi, Why do we say "He will pay her for an extra two hours of work" when "two hours" is obviously plural?" "I'll take an extra dozen." "It will accommodate an additional three persons." In this kind of construction, we are thinking of 'two hours of work' as a single 'amount of work', and three...

CalifJim wrote: There is are a lot of questions which need/ needs to be answered.1 There was / were was a great deal of confusions at that moment…..2 There was were a few among us who still believed /believes that ……3 ___________________ 1 'a lot of' is number transparent. Make the...

There is are a lot of questions which need/ needs to be answered.1 There was / were was a great deal of confusions at that moment…..2 There was were a few among us who still believed /believes that ……3 ___________________ 1 'a lot of' is number transparent. Make the agreement with...

I think the answer to your original question, Magda, is that if you want to keep your original sentence, just change "is" to "are". The thing is, it's an unusual sentence, so Grammar Geek gave you a more common one. I don't think many native English speakers would know with 100% certainty which...

Because it is correct. Just listen to correct sources and learn those constructions by heart/rote. You're trying to rationalize everything, and you're in the same spot, IMO, where you were one year ago, sorry. By now, you should have been in a position to lecture us on such issues....

Kooyeen wrote: Yoong Liat wrote: Yoong Liat wrote: There is / are a cat and a dog. (In AmE, both are acceptable.)Hi Yoong,I didn't know that, where did you find out it? I always thought "are" didn't sound very good. Maybe it's ok but it's not used much?Hi Kooyeen 'The...

Yoong Liat wrote: Anonymous wrote:As if cooking for him and going to his house weren't enough, he wants me to cook his dinner for him as well...Is this an appropriate construction? It seems like the usage would be more correct if it used "was" in lieu of "weren't." As if (1)cooking for him...