Is vs. Are (Plural Subject)
I see these types of issues so often, I start questioning my own sanity. Here's a direct quote from a news article:
"A Michigan man who, along with his wife, is facing felony murder charges."
This is incorrect in my eyes because the sentence contains plural subjects (man, wife) and should have the plural verb (are). Am I crazy?
Top answer
'wife' is not a subject. Phrases set off with commas after a subject, even when they seem to add another subject, are ignored when determining subject-verb agreement. It's A man who is facing ...
- 'wife' is not a subject.
- Phrases set off with commas after a subject, even when they seem to add another subject, are ignored when determining subject-verb agreement.
- It's A man who is facing ...
- regardless of the added phrase.
- By the way you don't have a complete sentence there.
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'wife' is not a subject.
Phrases set off with commas after a subject, even when they seem to add another subject, are ignored when determining subject-verb agreement.
It's A man who is facing ... regardless of the added phrase.
By the way you don't have a complete sentence there. There's no predicate to say something about the man who is facing those charges.
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