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Kenkenken9876 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
what-clause subject and the form of the verb
(A) What I really dislike about my city [is/are] the terrible traffic and the pollution
In the sentence above, the correct answer in a grammar quiz was "is".
However, the Complement of this sentence is plural: he terrible traffic and the pollution. So, "What I really dislike" is the same "The things that I dislike". "ARE" here is wrong? Only "IS" is correct?
(B) What I bought at that store [is/are] a notebook, some pencils, and an eraser.
The construction of Sentence B is the same as Sentence A.
Here, the verb should be IS or ARE?
How should I decide the 'number' of what-clause subject?
Should the Be verb be always singular? or depends on the number of the complement?
Thank you.
In the sentence above, the correct answer in a grammar quiz was "is".
However, the Complement of this sentence is plural: he terrible traffic and the pollution. So, "What I really dislike" is the same "The things that I dislike". "ARE" here is wrong? Only "IS" is correct?
(B) What I bought at that store [is/are] a notebook, some pencils, and an eraser.
The construction of Sentence B is the same as Sentence A.
Here, the verb should be IS or ARE?
How should I decide the 'number' of what-clause subject?
Should the Be verb be always singular? or depends on the number of the complement?
Thank you.
Top answer
kenkenken9876 However, the Complement of this sentence is plural Where does it say that the verb must agree with the complement ? The only rule I know is the one that says the verb must agree with the subject . Subjects like "What I dislike" and "What I bought" are grammatically singular and require a singular verb.
- kenkenken9876 However, the Complement of this sentence is plural Where does it say that the verb must agree with the complement ?
- The only rule I know is the one that says the verb must agree with the subject .
- Subjects like "What I dislike" and "What I bought" are grammatically singular and require a singular verb.
- That said, some writers do make the verb agree with the complement.
- Maybe they think it sounds better that way even though it's not really correct.
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7 Answers
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kenkenken9876However, the Complement of this sentence is pluralWhere does it say that the verb must agree with the complement?
The only rule I know is the one that says the verb must agree with the subject.
Subjects like "What I dislike" and "What I bought" are grammatically singular and require a singular verb.
That s
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Thank you for your advice.
So, in Sentence B too, [ is ] is correct, no matter how many elements follow that, right?
(B) What I bought at that store [is/are] a notebook, some pencils, and an eraser.
So, in Sentence B too, [ is ] is correct, no matter how many elements follow that, right?
(B) What I bought at that store [is/are] a notebook, some pencils, and an eraser.
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kenkenken9876So, in Sentence B too, [ is ] is correct, no matter how many elements follow that, right?Right.
CJ
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If (B) is like this:
What I bought at that store [is/are] some encils, a notebook and an eraser.
So the correct answer should be [ are], isn't it?
What I bought at that store [is/are] some encils, a notebook and an eraser.
So the correct answer should be [ are], isn't it?
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jacklongWhat I bought at that store [is/are] some encils, a notebook and an eraser.So the correct answer should be [ are], isn't it?No, but as I said above, some people do make the verb agree with the complement.
CJ
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What about "What we bought at that store ......", the choice should be [are] this time, isn't it?
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jacklongWhat about “What we bought at that store ......”? The choice should be “are” this time, shouldn’t it?No. The phrase is still singular.
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