Question!! is/are am/is

Question

hi, sir

please give me a help to choose the correct verb!

1.some of the pie is/are missing.
2.none of the three is/are interested.
3.The crew is/are writing reports of the wreck.
4.It could not be I who am/is responsible for this flat tire.
5.Green beans are/is the only vegetable that Millie will eat.

I don't know how to identify which one is wrong and make the sentence logical.

thanks a lot!

Doris

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

This looks suspiciously like homework, Doris, but OK this time:

1.some of the pie is missing. 'SOME IS'.
2.none of the three is interested. 'NONE IS'.
3.The crew is/are writing reports of the wreck. BOTH OK BUT TEACHER PROBABLY WANTS 'IS'.
4.It could not be I who is responsible for this flat tire. EXAMPLES: 'IT'S NOT ME.' 'IT'S NOT I.'
5.Green beans are the only vegetable that Millie will eat. 'BEANS ARE', BUT 'THE ONLY VEGETABLE IS...

Anyone think I have erred? There could be conflicting opinions.

Wai_Wai · Answer

1.some of the pie is missing.
(Compare: some of the pies are missing) Here "some" refer to "some pies", plural noun uses plural verb(?)

2.none of the three is interested.
3.The crew is/are writing reports of the wreck.
4.It could not be I who am responsible for this flat tire.
5.Green beans are the only vegetable that Millie will eat.

I have to go.
I will explain later on.

Wai_Wai · Answer

1.some of the pie is missing.
(Compare: some of the pies are missing) Here "some" refer to "some pies", plural noun uses so-called plural verb

2.none of the three is interested.
"none" here refers to not any one (of the three). "Not any one" is singular. Use so-called singular verb.

3.The crew is/are writing reports of the wreck.
It is a group noun.
We can use either singular or plural verb.
However it is recommended to use singular because the word is a singular noun.
To be consistent with the normal rule, we should use singular verb.

4.It could not be I who am responsible for this flat tire.
Here who represents "I".
That is why I choose"am".

5.Green beans are the only vegetable that Millie will eat.
Too easy.
Here the word "beans" is a plural noun (I do not use an incorrect verb-form because I regard "beans" as a word. I am talking it as a vocabulary word. A word is singular noun.)
So we use plural verb.

I kept my promise to add the eplanation ^^ (Should I be entitled to a reward?)
Any comment is welcome

CalifJim · Answer

Personally, this is probably what I would really say.

1. Some of the pie is missing, and I know who fed it to our pet moose. (OK)

2. None of the three are interested, and who can blame them?
(Wrong. Should be "is". I'll never win the battle that zero, i.e., "none", is nonsingular (doesn't equal 1) and therefore must take the nonsingular verb form!

)

3. The crew is writing reports of the wreck so as to escape punishment for causing it in the first place. (OK)
But maybe the agreement is with the object in this case?
The crew (as a team effort) is writing a report. The crew are writing (individual) reports.

4. There is no way in a million years I could possibly be responsible for [you name it!]
If you speak Advanced Pedantic, you are obliged, under threat of severe reprimand, to say:
It could not be I who am responsible ... (OK) And the proper response is "Nor I." (Sad, but true.

)

5. Green beans is the only vegetable that Millie will eat, which is quite surprising because everyone knows that corn is tastier.
I hear this one as an inversion of the normal: "The only vegetable is ...", i.e., to me "green beans" is the complement, not the subject. "the only vegetable that ..." is the subject. (Being only at the level of Intermediate Pedantic, I have no idea what the prescriptively correct form is. Sorry!)

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