0
Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Are or is?
Hi all,
I'm not sure what is more appropriate here:
"A remarkable array of computer programs X available to assist the identification....."
My auto-correct thinks it should be "is", but I think it should be "are"
What do you guys think?
Thanks in advance!
I'm not sure what is more appropriate here:
"A remarkable array of computer programs X available to assist the identification....."
My auto-correct thinks it should be "is", but I think it should be "are"
What do you guys think?
Thanks in advance!
Top answer
" Are" is correct.
- " Are" is correct.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
10 Answers
0
0
0
0
As you see, Anon, native speakers don't agree on this. To the purist, only 'is' is correct - the grammatical subject of the verb is 'an array' (singular). However, many people think of the 'programs' (plural) as being available, and use 'are'. Very few people worry about this.
00
fivejedjonTo the purist, only 'is' is correct - the grammatical subject of the verb is 'an array' (singular).Aha, but it’s the entire noun phrase a remarkable array of computer programs that is the grammatical subject, not just the determiner and the noun array, which don’t even form a constituent.
00
That depends on which system of grammatical analysis you use. Native speakers don't agree on that, either.
In any case, it doesn't really matter with the sentence we are discussing. Most native speakers don't worry too much about whether 'is' or 'are' is used.
In any case, it doesn't really matter with the sentence we are discussing. Most native speakers don't worry too much about whether 'is' or 'are' is used.
00
fivejedjonThat depends on which system of grammatical analysis you use.Yes, the right one or the wrong one. There are no grounds for analyzing an array (or array) as the subject.
00
Aspara Gus fivejedjonThat depends on which system of grammatical analysis you use.Yes, the right one or the wrong one. There are no grounds for analyzing an array (or array) as the subject.I think there are, but that is not relevant to the original question, so I'll leave it there.
00
Are these sentences correct:
1. A number of prisoners were released yesterday
2. The number of prisoners was released yesterday.
Is this the same grammatical problem as it is the one with "array"?
1. A number of prisoners were released yesterday
2. The number of prisoners was released yesterday.
Is this the same grammatical problem as it is the one with "array"?
00
The first is correct.
This is not exactly the same problem as the 'array' one in that 'a number of ...' is almost always followed by a plural verb in BrE. Not even purists insist on a singular verb with that expression.
With 'the number of ...', however, only the singular verb is considered correct. Despite this, your second sentence is not correct. We use 'the number of ...' lik
This is not exactly the same problem as the 'array' one in that 'a number of ...' is almost always followed by a plural verb in BrE. Not even purists insist on a singular verb with that expression.
With 'the number of ...', however, only the singular verb is considered correct. Despite this, your second sentence is not correct. We use 'the number of ...' lik
0
Related Questions