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Any help with these would be welcome!Thanks!'What IS/ARE the most important things in your life''What matters to me is Bob'What MATTER/MATTERS to me IS/ARE Bob and Joe' (2 subjects)What does/do those answers mean?'

Yankee · Accepted Answer

AnonymousAny help with these would be welcome!

Thanks!

'What ~~IS/~~ARE the most important things in your life'

'What matters to me is Bob.' OK, but I'd say it would be more typical to refer to a thing or a concept (rather a person).
For example:
'What matters to me is Bob's approval.'
Otherwise, instead of your original sentence, you could simply say 'Bob matters to me.'

'What MATTER/MATTERS to me IS/ARE Bob and Joe' (2 subjects) Again, I think beginning with 'what' would be more typical if the reference is not to people. You might hear "what matters" or "what matter" in reference to people after a question such as this, for example:

Q: What matters to you?
A: Bob and Joe are what matter to me. / Bob and Joe matter to me.

What ~~does/~~do those answers mean?'
What does each answer mean?

CalifJim · Answer

'What MATTER/MATTERS to me IS/ARE Bob and Joe' (2 subjects)

No. Not two subjects. Bob and Joe are subject complements. The subject is What matters to me. Such subjects are always singular.

What matters to me is Bob and Joe.

As stated above, this sentence is unusual in saying that a "thing" (what) is two people.

CJ

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