Thanks everybody for your enthusiasm for my previous questions. Now I have an additional question pertaining to a particular section of English grammar: "number shifts"  For example:   The problem with this plan is all of the permits we could have to file before starting the project.   It is obvious that neither the word "is" or "are" is consistent with the noun each of them refers to. Therefore, how can I solve this dilemma? After a moment of thinking the solution, I got exhausted; therefore, I decided to get rid of this kind of confusion by changing the whole sentence into a somewhat new one:   Filling all of the permits required by this plans will probably delay the project.   However, I was still not satisfied with my attempt. So, can somebody give me some advice on how to tackle this kind of situation? Should I change the form of the sentence without changing its meaning or is there a correct way using the word "is" or "are"? If I needed to adhere to the latter approach, what would I essentially do to avoid the mismatch between "noun" and "verb"? Once again, thanks for any help!  Best regards
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In my , I provided the following, problematic,  wording (especially bold italic), and I need help to better understand this issue so I can fix my answer:1          The thing is the books. (Reduced form of Sentence 2.a)         Fundamentally, Sentence 2.a (the so-called "correct" answer), is grammatically defective. Recall there is another grammatical rule: the subject and subject's complement should match in number.    A clarification is needed here. I am not suggesting here, in this EL&amp;U question, that there is any such singular grammatical rule as indicated in the quote above.  The quote continues as follows:     The reduced sentence makes the disagreement between the subject's and complement's plurality obvious. What is one to do? Language is linear and we know "The thing is X" is better than "The thing are X", so we go with the former, which is the subject-verb agreement rule. But what is "the books" then? It must be thought of as a collective noun, even if it doesn't look or feel like one. Forcing something to be a collective noun is related to the idea of notional agreement.   Others noted that grammatically defective is too strongly worded.  There is no such "grammatical rule" for subject/complement agreement.  Please help me understand/improve upon my line of thought here.  I'm stating that Sentence 2.1 presents a fundamental "conflict" or "error" (however one might define error) at some level (morphological, syntax, grammatical, semantic):     The thing is the books.  (Or, "The thing is the objects.")   Based on the "obvious" morphosyntactic plurality conflict, the above sentence feels so wrong that I think many native speakers would think it "simply" grammatically incorrect. However, @F.E. gives counter examples:     And here are some more grammatical examples, where the number of subject and predicative complement don't agree: "They were a problem to us all", "That so-called work of art is simply four pieces of driftwood glued together" (CGEL, page 254-5). As CGEL says: "What is required is semantic compatibility, not syntactic agreement . . .". There are more examples on page 512: "The only thing we need now is some new curtains", "The major asset of the team is its world-class opening bowlers", "Our neighbors are a nuisance", "This gadget is five different tools in one".   I think all the examples given above can be explained as notional agreement.    Question 1: If we explain this phenomena in terms of notional vs syntactic agreement, where does "grammatically correct/incorrect" fit in?  Question 2: Can a simple sentence such as "The thing is the objects." be grammatically incorrect while more complex sentences such as "The thing is four pieces of driftwood glued together." be grammatically correct?  (The answer, in my mind, must be no; this is my conundrum.)  Question 3: Would it be better to say that Sentence 2.a has a low level of (linguistic) ?   Question 4: How about a low level of  and that it's semantically difficult to be (linguistically) ?    Question 5: Do we simply draw a hard line and say "The thing is the objects." is 100% grammatically correct?  I didn't particularly like this option based on intuitive notions of "grammatically correct".    1. Please help me and be kind; I'm trying to improve my understanding. I'm looking for cool, objective advice on how to look at this.  I numbered my questions so they can be easily referenced, if desired.  My preference is the final answer would sufficiently answer all the questions, but of course that can be done explicitly or implicitly.
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I'm trying to find out whether I should use a singular or plural verb when there are multiple gerunds as the subject of the sentence. For example:  Running the correct course and keeping a steady pace are/is necessary in order to win.  With either one of these by itself, &quot;is&quot; would be correct:  Running the correct course is necessary in order to win. Keeping a steady pace is necessary in  order to win.  With both gerunds combined, I can't seem to figure out whether the verb should stay singular since each phrase is singular, or if it should become plural since there are two connected by &quot;and&quot;. If we just treat the gerunds as regular nouns, then obviously it would become &quot;are&quot;, but I'm not sure if gerunds have the exact same rules as regular nouns. I know that if the sentence was:  Running the correct course and keeping a steady pace are both necessary.  That &quot;are&quot; would be correct, but without the &quot;both&quot; it sounds incorrect to me. Does anyone know the official rule here?
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Possible Duplicate:             Can anyone help me determine the correct verb in this sentence? I am not sure what to do. If it were not such a complex introductory phrase, it would be more obvious. The general consensus of my friends who are not professional writers is that the verb should be are.   To me the question is whether or not the subject is singular (i.e., “a large collective volume of paint”, perhaps in a tank) or plural (a lot of the individual gallon containers of paint).  If simplified to other options, it would be like these:   Paint is sold. Gallons of paint are sold. More paint is sold. More gallons of paint are sold. More than 1000 gallons of paint is sold. [emphasis on total volume] More than 1000 gallons of paint are sold. [emphasis on individual containers]
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Usage of "%"  I'm almost positive it's a prepositional phrase since it's really means "per cent" or "per 100".  So in a sentence like:     90% of my street are doing lawn work.   It would be "are" and not "is" because both "%" and "of my street" are prepositional phrases and therefore cannot contain the subject.  Am I right?
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What is the correct verb tense for the phrase "all you need is", when what follows is a plural?   All you need is paintbrushes and paint. All you need are paintbrushes and paint.   Or is neither incorrect?  Both forms sound funny to me.  Google shows an order of magnitude more hits for  than , but the latter still has ~500K hits, so it seems that both forms are in common use.  (You can also examples of both usages in Google's "News" search.)    Consider a related example:   All is good. All are good.   Both forms are correct, but have slightly different meanings/contexts.  The first is correct if "all" refers to "everything" (singular); the second is correct if "all" refers to an implied concrete set of things, as in "all (the widgets) are good".  This line of reasoning seems to imply the latter form is correct, since "paintbrushes" are concrete things.  (And yet that seems to be the less popular form in common usage, judging by Google hits).
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I'm reading Robinson Crusoe and came across many of these constructions with "but" in it. I can't help but thought they were a little unusual. I don't consider myself fluent in English, that's why I ask.  Here is an example:     This I saw no remedy for but by making an enclosure about it with a   hedge; which I did with a great deal of toil, and more, because it   required speed.   Second one:      However, as my arable land was but small, suited to my crop, I got   it totally well fenced in about three weeks' time;   By typing the second out I figured it is actually the normal textbook case of "but", just an, in my opinion, screwed ordering in the sentence. Is this what it means?     However, as my arable land was suited to my crop but small, I got it   totally well fenced in about three weeks time;   Why did the author do this? Can you comment on the first sentence too? It's not a textbook-but-usage as I see it.
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I have just learned from what I consider a reliable source, that the following sentence is correct:     One of us is wrong, aren't we?   I would never in my life have written this, but I am assured that   As I realize comments don't live forever I will quote the relevant parts:     oerkelens : So you  would really write One of us is wrong, aren't we? I guess by analogy you would not bat an eyelid at One of these balls is blue, aren't they?   Matt Эллен : yes, "Then one of us is wrong, aren't we?" is exactly how it would be written. Same for the balls.   Could someone please enlighten me how it is possible that the number in a question tag supposedly has to be in discordance with the subject of the main clause?  I admit that I am not the youngest any more, and my school days are long gone, but back in the days, I was taught that  1. a verb and its subject concord in number 2. a question tag concords with the subject of the main clause  I was given examples like:     It is warm today, isn't it?   We will be on time, won't we?   Mary is pretty, isn't she?   John isn't the brightest, is he?   Some people may notice that the subject of the main clause seems to determine every time the subject of the question tag. When the main clause subject is singular, so are verb and subject in the question tag.  I was under the impression that a) this made sense and b) this would be a general rule.  I fully realize that grammar does not have to make sense, so a) is immaterial. As for b), today I learned I was wrong :)  So when (and possibly why?) do we form question tags that are different in number from their main clause?   To exemplify, also the other example sentence that I used and was corrected on:     One of these balls is blue, isn't it? (so this is wrong)   One of these balls is blue, aren't they? (and this is correct)   As an afterthought, does this strange grammatical number mix-up only appear in question-tags, or should I always refer to singular subjects in the plural if certain conditions are met? And what are those conditions?  Which versions are correct?     One of the cars is broken, aren't they? They (the car(s?) that is(are?) broken) should be fixed.   One of the cars is broken, aren't they? It (the car that is broken) should be fixed.   One of us must be wrong, mustn't we? We (the one(s?) that is (are?) wrong) should make amends.   One of us must be wrong, mustn't we? He (the one that is wrong) should make amends.   (In the last one, they could of course be used as the singular they, but that would avoid the issue...)
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We have been asked to correct the error in the sentence:     Either he or I is right.   The only possible change that I can think of goes like this:     Either I or he is right.   Am I right? It will be helpful if someone can state the rules for such sentences as I am unable to understand why the first sentence is wrong.
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My friend and I got into an argument about English grammar, so I was hoping maybe you could help us out. Okay so we want to know if the following part of the sentence is correct, "People who are satisfied and feel self-fulfilled like I" rather than "People who are satisfied and feel self-fulfilled like me". I have already provided many sources to my friend showing that the first way is a formal and a grammatically correct way, however he wants an answer with this specific part of the sentence.   Please help us out  Thank you
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how are you?  Well, my biggest doubt at the moment is the difference between these two tenses. Actually, the more I study the more I have doubts with these tenses.      /         These similar threads helped me to clarify and reiterate my previous understanding.   I'm not posting in these threads because the site suggests avoiding asking for clarification (I don't know why because it would avoid new threads with the same content).  My main doubt is as follows:     I've lived in New York for two years.   In my understanding, the sentence above implies (1) that I lived in NY for two years and now I live in another place; or (2) I'm moving to another city after two years living in NY; or (3) I lived in NY for two years, then I moved to another place for some period and, finally, I'm returning. Is that correct?     I've been living in New York for two years.   Whereas the sentence above, in my understanding, implies that I lived in NY for two years and I still living there.  Anyway, many sources that I've already read say that these two sentences have the same meaning and are interchangeable. Therein lies my question. Is that correct? Because if these two sentences are interchangeable, it destroys all my understanding.  Thanks in advance.
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Why would using the construct &quot;is/their&quot; instead of &quot;is/its&quot; in the following examples likely be frowned upon by some native speakers and marked as incorrect on tests?  The class is working on its assignment. (AmEng) The class is/are working on its/their assignment. (BrEng) The class is working on their assignment. (disputed usage)  -and-  The government is always changing its mind. (AmEng) The government is/are always changing its/their minds. (BrEng) The government is always changing their mind. (disputed usage)  -and-  The team is putting on its uniforms. (chiefly AmEng) The team are putting on their uniforms. (chiefly BrEng) The team is putting on their uniforms. (disputed usage)  -and-  The Smith family is at the beauty parlor getting its hair and nails done for the wedding. (chiefly AmEng) The Smith family are at the beauty parlor getting their hair and nails done for the wedding. (chiefly BrEng) The Smith family is at the beauty parlor getting their hair and nails done for the wedding. (disputed usage)  On the other hand, why might other native speakers consider this usage to be acceptable?
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If she be found guilty… ()   I got a curiosity what difference there is when I put ‘is’ instead of ‘be.’ The dictionary says ‘is’ is used in spoken language. Is that all? Is there no semantic difference at all?
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For example, I found the following sentence written by a native English speaker (UK) so I'm going to assume that he knows how to put it the right way, although I wouldn't use this form.     I now have a bit more time to fix bugs   etc but I'm open to offers if anyone   wants to help maintain this module   with me?   Is it correct or is the question mark misused here?
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Over on another network site, a helpful user corrected the grammar of .  The answer now says     I believe it's valid.   where I originally wrote     I believe it valid.   Is the original sentence gramamatically (or at least idiomatically) correct or do I absolutely need a form of 'to be' here? (What's more, is 'to be' a copula or an auxiliary verb if used like this?)  I am quite certain that I have seen sentences like the original one in the past, but I am uncertain where. Given that I am frequently exposed to the somewhat made-up English of authors in the fields of sci-fi and fantasy, I might have fallen into a trap here.  Edit: I don't doubt that the correction is valid and enhances readability.
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Context: I am writing a short text to explain the main differences between Spanish passive sentences with "ser" and "estar", one of which is verb choice: sometimes the adjectival form should be chosen, and sometimes the participle form should. Those are generally the same, but sometimes they differ. The problematic sentence goes like:     Some examples where the participle and the adjectival form differ are: [and a list follows]   In a previous , it was explained that the noun (form) can be either in singular or plural. Because the noun was a general thing, I decided to go with the singular form, but then a verb followed (differ). Now, my question is:    Should the verb be conjugated in third person singular (differs) or plural (differ)?   Common sense tells me that it should be a plural (since there are two forms), but "differ" after "form" doesn't sound right (or does it?). I know I could just change form to forms, but I would like to keep it singular. Besides, I really am interested in knowing how the verb should be conjugated in this kind of phrases when the noun is to be kept in singular.
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Relevant:  and   The answers in the linked question don't quite help me. Specifically, what happens with this case:  My three pens are green. Each of my three pens are green. Each of my three pens is green.  Part of the confusion seems to stem from the inclusion of &quot;three&quot;:  My pens are green. Each of my pens are green. Each pen is green.  There doesn't seem to be a way to rewrite the last example with &quot;three&quot;:  Each three pen is green.  The more common application would be:  All three pens are green.  But in the event that I want to say, &quot;Each of my three pens are green&quot; which is correct? And, in the event that the correct sentence is &quot;each of my three pens is green&quot; why does prepending &quot;each of&quot; to the beginning of &quot;my three pens are green&quot; change the verb?
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While I was answering a question on ELL, I got confused with a  from a fellow user. After I indicated that:     "Do you have any idea to prove it?'   is grammatically correct, the OP commented that "ideas" should be used in place of "idea".  The comment befuddled me. I thought until now that "any" should be followed by singular noun and not plural. So I searched Google and saw it's a huge debate going on and there is no end to it. I got no perfect and trustworthy source. So I thought to post the question here.  So what is the right rule? Should singular or plural be used after "any"?