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Isis Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
Singular or Plural ?
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this group and I have some questions regarding the following sentence.
"On top of the whale's head ____ one or two blowholes which makes it easier for them to breathe at the surface of the water."
Question 1) Should I put "is" or "are" in the blank?
I feel that "are" would be correct because "blowholes" is the subject while "one or two" are adjectives. However, I've been told by a teacher that the answer should be "is" since "makes" tells us that the sentence is referring to one blowhole. (Which leads us to the next question...)
Question 2) Isn't the verb "makes" referring to the LOCATION of the blowholes? Being located on top of the head and not anywhere else MAKES it easier for whales to breathe. However, if we are referring to the blowholes and not the location, then shouldn't it be "make" instead of "makes" (keeping in mind that "blowholes" is the subject)? At least that is more consistent with the subject-verb agreement rule.
Question 3) "...the whale's head (i.e. ONE whale).....easier for them (i.e. MORE than one whale). Is this another inconsistency with number?
Looking forward to be enlightened...(please!) Thanks!
I'm new to this group and I have some questions regarding the following sentence.
"On top of the whale's head ____ one or two blowholes which makes it easier for them to breathe at the surface of the water."
Question 1) Should I put "is" or "are" in the blank?
I feel that "are" would be correct because "blowholes" is the subject while "one or two" are adjectives. However, I've been told by a teacher that the answer should be "is" since "makes" tells us that the sentence is referring to one blowhole. (Which leads us to the next question...)
Question 2) Isn't the verb "makes" referring to the LOCATION of the blowholes? Being located on top of the head and not anywhere else MAKES it easier for whales to breathe. However, if we are referring to the blowholes and not the location, then shouldn't it be "make" instead of "makes" (keeping in mind that "blowholes" is the subject)? At least that is more consistent with the subject-verb agreement rule.
Question 3) "...the whale's head (i.e. ONE whale).....easier for them (i.e. MORE than one whale). Is this another inconsistency with number?
Looking forward to be enlightened...(please!) Thanks!
Top answer
Oky, this is what I've found out from the moderator of Lydbury Grammar Clinic in case anyone else is interested. "are" would be correct given that we say "there are one or two" and also "there are two or one". g.
- Oky, this is what I've found out from the moderator of Lydbury Grammar Clinic in case anyone else is interested.
- "are" would be correct given that we say "there are one or two" and also "there are two or one".
- g.
- " We use "is" since "what" is the subject.
- "makes" is the verb of a single independent clause that contains a plural verb internally.
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1 Answers
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Oky, this is what I've found out from the moderator of Lydbury Grammar Clinic in case anyone else is interested.
"are" would be correct given that we say "there are one or two" and also "there are two or one". An exception is found in the use of "what" e.g. "What you will find on top of the whale's head is one or two blowholes." We use "is" since "what" is the subject.
"m
"are" would be correct given that we say "there are one or two" and also "there are two or one". An exception is found in the use of "what" e.g. "What you will find on top of the whale's head is one or two blowholes." We use "is" since "what" is the subject.
"m
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