0
Adonis1013 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Grammar question

Thank you for explaining the following two questions.

A) What kind of camera do you have?

B) What kinds of camera do you have?

Which one is correct? Could you explain why (A) or (B) sentence is correct?

Another question is .....

Three years is a long time to be without a job.

Three years is the "subject." I guess that the sentence used "is" as the verb based on "three" rather than "years." Is my explaination correct? Or there is another explaination.

Thank you for your help.
  

Top answer

-- The speaker assumes that only one kind is had. -- The speaker assumes that more than one kind is had. Three years is a long time to be without a job.

— Mister Micawber

  • -- The speaker assumes that only one kind is had.
  • -- The speaker assumes that more than one kind is had.
  • Three years is a long time to be without a job.
  • " Is my explaination correct?
  • -- The explanation is that either 'is' or 'are' is acceptable in most cases, since the speaker may be conceiving of a single period or of more than one year; however, 'a long time' in the predicate sways the choice toward singular.
Free · every Monday

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
A) What kind of camera do you have?-- The speaker assumes that only one kind is had.

B) What kinds of camera do you have?-- The speaker assumes that more than one kind is had.

Three years is a long time to be without a job.
Three years is the "subject." I guess that the sentence used "is" as the verb based on "three" rather than "years." Is my explaination corr
0

Related Questions