Plural or Singular nouns
Hello, everyone
I was just casually practicing my english speaking skills by creating sentences when I stumbled upon some situations where I couldn't tell for sure if the words should be plural or singular. I'll give some examples:
"What truly matters is/are not the things that happen to you, but how you react to them"
"The real problem here is/are the methods being employed"
I would appreciate some help in clearing this up.
Top answer
[1] [ What truly matters ] is / are not the things that happen to yo u, but how you react to them. Both verb forms are possible "What" has the default value singular, and the verb in the subordinate clause ("matters") is singular, so the singular matrix verb "is" would be appropriate here. However, in this case plural override would also be possible, and "is" could be replaced by "are".
- [1] [ What truly matters ] is / are not the things that happen to yo u, but how you react to them.
- Both verb forms are possible "What" has the default value singular, and the verb in the subordinate clause ("matters") is singular, so the singular matrix verb "is" would be appropriate here.
- However, in this case plural override would also be possible, and "is" could be replaced by "are".
- [2] [ The real problem here ] is / are [ the methods being employed ] .
- There can often be a mismatch of number between the subject and the predicative complement.
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] [What truly matters] is/are not the things that happen to you, but how you react to them.
Both verb forms are possible "What" has the default value singular, and the verb in the subordinate clause ("matters") is singular, so the singular matrix verb "is" would be appropriate here. However, in this case plural override would also be pos
0
Related Questions