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Kooyeen Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

These are a cat and a dog... ummm

0 Hi, 02br
00sorry for the silly question, I don't know why but I got confused...02br
00I know you say "There is a cat and a dog" and not "there are a cat and a dog"... but what happens with "this/these" and "that/those"?02br
02br
00These are a nuclear bomb and a laser gun. Or what else? This is a...?02br
00Those are my sister and my aunt. Or "that is my sister and..."?02br
02br
00It must be a stupid question, but the more I think about this, the more I'm 02br
00Thanks. 050010id1
  

Top answer

12br 10I know you say "There is a cat and a dog" and not "there are a cat and a dog"... 12br 12blockquote 10There is a cat and a dog. (BrE)02br 02br 00There is / are a cat and a dog.

— Yoong Liat

  • 12br 10I know you say "There is a cat and a dog" and not "there are a cat and a dog"...
  • 12br 12blockquote 10There is a cat and a dog.
  • (BrE)02br 02br 00There is / are a cat and a dog.
  • )0-
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17 Answers
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Kooyeen12cite10Hi, 12br
10sorry for the silly question, I don't know why but I got confused...12br
10I know you say "There is a cat and a dog" and not "there are a cat and a dog"... 12br
12blockquote
10There is a cat and a dog. (BrE)02br
02br
00There is / are
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Yoong Liat12cite10There is / are a cat and a dog. (In AmE, both are acceptable.)12br
12blockquote
10Hi Yoong,02br
00I didn't know that, where did you find out it? I always thought "are" didn't sound very good. Maybe it's ok but it's not used much?02br
00Anyway, the question was
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Kooyeen12cite11blockquote
11cite20Yoong Liat22cite22blockquote
21table11tr11td12tr11tr11td
11b10Yoong Liat wrote:12b12td
12br
12br
10There is / are a cat and a dog. (In AmE, both ar
0
0
0 Ah, I see, thanks Yoong.02br
00I also see "...the singular construction is more common...", so that's why it sounds better to me.02br
02br
00Now the original question was about "This/this/that/those", and it seems a singular construction is used in those cases too, but I'm not completely sure.02br
050010id1
0
0
0Hi 01b01font00Kooyeen02font02b02br
02br
00These are a nuclear bomb and a laser gun. 02br
00Those are my sister and my aunt.02br
02br
00The above sentences are correct because they don't start with "There".0-
0
0
0 These are a nuclear bomb and a laser gun.02br
00 Those are my sister and my aunt.02br
02br
00No. They may be technically correct but they sound ugly to my ear. 05002br
02br
00 Instead, I'd use:02br
02br
00 These [things / weapons] are a nuclear bomb and a laser gun.02br
00 Those [people / women] are my
0
0
0Hi CJ02br
02br
00This is a nuclear bomb and a laser gun.02br
00That is my sister and my aunt.02br
02br
00IMHO, the above sentences are incorrect because 'is' is used in connection with two things/people.0-
0
0
0 Yes. From information you gave in your previous posts, this opinion of yours was completely predictable. We knew that! You are probably correct; I know of nothing that amounts to evidence against your view. Nevertheless, I must say that they sound awful! I would avoid having to write or say such things by rephrasing.02br
02br
00 CJ0-
0
0
0Hi CJ02br
02br
00What I've written is not my opinions. The information is extracted from English usage books. As a non-native speaker, I learn from such books which I've painstakingly gone through. 02br
02br
00I hope you will appreciate this fact.02br
02br
00I'm learning English every day, and I'm glad that I've learnt a lot from nativ
0
0
0 Let's analyze how the communication broke down here.02br
02br
00 You wrote:02br
01blockquote
00IMHO, the above sentences are incorrect12blockquote
10 What does the O in IMHO stand for?02br
02br
00 When I reacted to your "O", you then wrote:02br
01blockquote
00What I've written i
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