Subject-verb agreement

Question

Either one of the boys that live in our neighbourhood killed the cat.

Either one of them is on drugs.

Fewer than 2 planets in the universe have living beings on it.

There is more than one solution.

There is a flock of birds.

There are two staff of teachers. (=2 schools of teachers?)

A flock of birds have flown by the building.

There are a lot of people.

There is an ocean of people out there.

Are they all correct?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Hi,

"Fewer than 2 planets in the universe have living beings on it."

The "Fewer than 2 planets" means "one planet". So the verb "have" may agree with the subject of the sentence and is grammatically correct, but at the same time it is against all logic.

Avangi · Answer

Anonymous"Fewer than 2 planets in the universe have living beings on it."
The "Fewer than 2 planets" means "one planet". So the verb "have" may agree with the subject of the sentence and is grammatically correct, but at the same time it is against all logic.

The subject-verb agreement may be correct, but in my opinion "it" must be replaced by "them."
I'm taking "fewer" as the plural subject pronoun.

By the same token, I believe we'd say, "More than one planet has living beings on it."

We're not required to do the math.

Michaelting · Answer

I see.

Besides that, are there any other statements that are strange/wrong?

Michaelting · Answer

Oh ya, and 1 more thing

If it is one and a half,

Is it singular or plural?

Avangi · Answer

michaeltingOh ya, and 1 more thing
If it is one and a half,
Is it singular or plural?

We say "one pound and a half," but we say "one and a half pounds."

This can be complicated. It would be better if you'd use full sentences.

One and a half pounds of rice is not enough.

It depends if you're talking about items or a volume of stuff.

One and a half potatoes are required to make the soup.

Subject-verb agreement

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