0
Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
All is/are...
My 1st grade son came home with his spelling words and dictation sentences this week. I am confused by one of his sentences (sad, I know, LOL). The sentence is:
All but Dad is sick.
I realize "all" can mean a single collective, but in this case it it obviously referring to several individuals. Shouldn't this be "are?" And on a side note, shouldn't "Dad" be lowercase unless you are addressing him directly and using it as a name?
Thanks for your input!
All but Dad is sick.
I realize "all" can mean a single collective, but in this case it it obviously referring to several individuals. Shouldn't this be "are?" And on a side note, shouldn't "Dad" be lowercase unless you are addressing him directly and using it as a name?
Thanks for your input!
Top answer
Anonymous All but Dad is sick. It's tricky. All can be either plural (many individuals) or singular (the collective).
- Anonymous All but Dad is sick.
- It's tricky.
- All can be either plural (many individuals) or singular (the collective).
- All the peanuts have been eaten.
- All the candy has been eaten.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
AnonymousAll but Dad is sick.It's tricky. All can be either plural (many individuals) or singular (the collective).
All the peanuts have been eaten.
All the candy has been eaten.
So there are arguments for singular, and for plural.
All of us but Dad are sick.
All the family but Dad is sick.
Here is another paralle
0
Related Questions