Re: is this/are these (conditional by Lagataw)

Hello! Sorry for reposting this. I just need some clarification with regards to my post. I wasn't able to explain well and gave irrelevant examples.

Here's what i meant:

Probably what mudclay was saying was, an ESL student might think a particular word may seem like a compound word.



For instance, an ESL student might think the word "neighborhood" is a combination of the words neighbor and hood. (or neigh, boar and hood ) Given that the student only hears the word (not sees it written), what should the student ask?



"Teacher, how many words is it?"

or

"Teacher, how many words are they?"



To make things a bit quirkier, what if the student sees the word (neighborhood) written. He shows the paper to the teacher and asks:



"How many words is this?"

or

"How many words are these?"



If this is the case, I think the student should ask "How many words is it?" (if the student just hears it)



and



"How many words is this?" (if the student is pointing to the word)



How many + plural noun (except in the case of the word percent)

We use the linking verb IS because the subject is singular (the word neighborhood).

And THIS/IT because the pronoun has a singular antecedent (the word neighborhood)

But I think this is chiefly spoken or casual.



It's like saying "I'm (like) two people (in one body)"



or



"He's five people (in one body)"

in the interrogative form "How many people is he?"