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Twistedthistle Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Hot and cold food is/are available
Hi everyone,
Which is the correct way to phrase this sentence?:
a) Hot and cold food is available.
or
b) Hot and cold food are available.
I think grammatically speaking, "are" should be correct, as there are two implied sentences: "Hot food is available... and Cold food is available."
However, I can't shake the feeling that b) sounds a bit weird--in fact, Oxford has an example under "cold": "Hot and cold food is available in the cafeteria."
I've tried substituting other uncountable nouns; for example, "Still and sparkling water are available." And that sounds even weirder!
Can anyone shed any light on this for me? Or point me in the direction of a reference? (I've trawled the web, bit come up with nothing)
Thanks in advance!
TT
Which is the correct way to phrase this sentence?:
a) Hot and cold food is available.
or
b) Hot and cold food are available.
I think grammatically speaking, "are" should be correct, as there are two implied sentences: "Hot food is available... and Cold food is available."
However, I can't shake the feeling that b) sounds a bit weird--in fact, Oxford has an example under "cold": "Hot and cold food is available in the cafeteria."
I've tried substituting other uncountable nouns; for example, "Still and sparkling water are available." And that sounds even weirder!
Can anyone shed any light on this for me? Or point me in the direction of a reference? (I've trawled the web, bit come up with nothing)
Thanks in advance!
TT
Top answer
You can use a singular verb if you're thinking of the compound subject as a unit. That's not a problem. Anyway, in this case, it's not really two subjects connected by 'and'.
- You can use a singular verb if you're thinking of the compound subject as a unit.
- That's not a problem.
- Anyway, in this case, it's not really two subjects connected by 'and'.
- The only real subject is 'food', so 'food is' should be fine.
- I think you may have to judge each case separately, checking each for the 'weird factor'.
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2 Answers
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You can use a singular verb if you're thinking of the compound subject as a unit. That's not a problem.
Anyway, in this case, it's not really two subjects connected by 'and'. The only real subject is 'food', so 'food is' should be fine. I think you may have to judge each case separately, checking each for the 'weird factor'.
Anyway, in this case, it's not really two subjects connected by 'and'. The only real subject is 'food', so 'food is' should be fine. I think you may have to judge each case separately, checking each for the 'weird factor'.
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twistedthistlein fact, Oxford has an example under "cold": "Hot and cold food is available in the cafeteria."Go with Oxford—you can't lose.
twistedthistleCan anyone shed any light on this for me?I attribute it to the fact that 'food' and 'water' are uncountable. Hot and cold foods/sandwiches are available.
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