I am writing a post for a website and I've come across a bit of a dilemma. It's the age-old grammar-buster of whether to use is or are. <br/><br/>Original Post:<br/>"Although our understanding of life and the universe is still young...."<br/><br/>Which is correct?<br/>Although our understanding (of life and the universe) IS still young....<br/><br/>However, the compound "life and the universe" is leading me to think I should use are instead.<br/><br/>Although our understanding of life and the universe ARE still young....