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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
"is" or "are"
On the front page of a newspapers, the following headline was found, "Who are behind the thefts?"
My friend firmly believes that it should have been, "Who is behind the thefts?" She said that if the plural "are" is to be used, "are" should be followed by a noun and perhaps read as "Who are the culprits behind the thefts?"
I am of the view that the headline is fine. What do the experts think?
My friend firmly believes that it should have been, "Who is behind the thefts?" She said that if the plural "are" is to be used, "are" should be followed by a noun and perhaps read as "Who are the culprits behind the thefts?"
I am of the view that the headline is fine. What do the experts think?
Top answer
Although the interrogative pronouns normally takes a singular verb, if the speaker/writer thinks that there are several thieves, then the plural verb is fine.
- Although the interrogative pronouns normally takes a singular verb, if the speaker/writer thinks that there are several thieves, then the plural verb is fine.
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3 Answers
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Although the interrogative pronouns normally takes a singular verb, if the speaker/writer thinks that there are several thieves, then the plural verb is fine.
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Mister MicawberAlthough the interrogative pronouns normally takes a singular verb, if the speaker/writer thinks that there are several thieves, then the plural verb is fine.Even so, "Who are behind the thefts," on its own, sounds extremely unusual to my native ears.
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Mister MicawberAlthough the interrogative pronouns normally takes a singular verb, if the speaker/writer thinks that there are several thieves, then the plural verb is fine.I've never heard that explanation. If the person thinks that several people are behind a robbery, surely he will see them as a group/gang.
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