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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Urgent: singular and plural

Anonymous:
Which is correct:

Our 'brains/brain' 'is/are' very complex?

Specifically, our brains is ....... (Would that be possible)

Our 'brains/brain' 'control/controls' everything

Also:

There 'is or are' many resasons why we should take care of our brains/brain.

Please help me with this problem. Can I mix singular with plural here or what? Can each sentence be written in both singular and plural form? Is there a rule that would help me out?

Should singular go with singular almost every time to be safe
Thank you.
  

Top answer

Anonymous Our 'brains/brain' 'is/are' very complex? brain is / brains are Anonymous There 'is or are' many resasons There are many reason s ... Anonymous take care of our brains /brain.

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous Our 'brains/brain' 'is/are' very complex?
  • brain is / brains are Anonymous There 'is or are' many resasons There are many reason s ...
  • Anonymous take care of our brains /brain.
  • As shown, though the singular is not wrong.
  • CJ
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6 Answers
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AnonymousOur 'brains/brain' 'is/are' very complex?
brain is / brains are
AnonymousThere 'is or are' many resasons
There are many reasons...
Anonymoustake care of our brains /brain.
As shown, though the singular is not wrong.

CJ
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Thank you very much!

The singular is not wrong in the last part of the sentence you corrected: take care of our brains (brain is also possible here). Did I understand correctly?
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Just to clarify, you mean that the singular in not wrong just for the last example? And the prior examples should remain as you showed where both have to be either singular or plural!
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AnonymousThank you very much!The singular is not wrong in the last part of the sentence you corrected: take care of our brains (brain is also possible here). Did I understand correctly?
Yes. That's right. Everyone has one brain, so even when talking about more than one person, you can use 'our brain' to mean 'the brain of each of us'. This is generally true
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AnonymousJust to clarify, you mean that the singular in not wrong just for the last example?
Yes. Just for the last example. 'our brains' or 'our brain'.
Anonymousthe prior examples should remain as you showed where both have to be either singular or plural!
Correct.

CJ
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Thank you very much for your help - clear and amazing explanation Emotion: smile
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