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Kathirkaman Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

General Grammar

I've a sentence as below in an article:

The fact that A is B and that C is D implies that....

Can the above be changed as below?

The facts that A is B and that C is D imply that...

Reason: As the word "fact" in this case is a countable noun, I'm making it plural, and moreover from the repetition of the word "that" it is very evident that there are actually two different facts.

Is my reason justified?

Waiting for comments.
  

Top answer

Hi, Both approaches seem OK to me. They just indicate that the speakers are thinking in slightly different ways. Clive

— Clive

  • Hi, Both approaches seem OK to me.
  • They just indicate that the speakers are thinking in slightly different ways.
  • Clive
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5 Answers
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Hi,

Both approaches seem OK to me. They just indicate that the speakers are thinking in slightly different ways.

Clive
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To complicate things further, I would say "The fact that A is B and that C is D imply that..." is correct because repetition of "that" is a clear indication that there are two different facts. But by rules of subject--verb agreement, "The fact ... imply that..." is not correct (also remember the fact that the word "fact," per Oxford dictionary, is countable in this meaning).

Still further
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Hi,

I don't mean to be a spoilsportEmotion: stick out tongue, but here's
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The way I would phrase it would be: "The fact that A is B and C is D implies that..."

Now, of course 'fact' is a countable noun, but it isn't necessary to use it in plural where the singular can get the job done well without much confusion. Look at this sentence, for example:

"The facts that the earth goes around the sun and that the moon goes around the earth..."

It's
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