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HSS Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

What Is or What Are?

You say, "Who is in the room?" even though you know there are a lot of people there. Not "Who are in the room?"

Now, suppose somebody says to you "Come with me! I've seen a bunch of drinks on the table. We are thirsty." You know there are a lot of kinds of drinks there. How would you respond, "What is on the table?" or "What are on the table?"?

Many thanks in advance.

Hiro

Sendai, Japan
  

Top answer

" (or more naturally, "What's") unless you are making a specific reference to a plural. What are those things up there? ("those things" being plural)

  • " (or more naturally, "What's") unless you are making a specific reference to a plural.
  • What are those things up there?
  • ("those things" being plural)
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18 Answers
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In that situation, you would say "What is..." (or more naturally, "What's") unless you are making a specific reference to a plural.

What are those things up there? ("those things" being plural)
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Hi, GG.

Thanks. "What" in your last sentence is a complement. I was trying to look into situations where "what" is used as a subject.

"Who are they?" (who as a complement) is a totally okay sentence, but "Who are in the room?" (who as a subject) is not.

I was wondering "What are on the desk" (what as a subject) could be possible.

Hiro
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No, that would also be "What is on the desk?" (And parallel to the one above, "What are the items on your desk?")
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You are seeing some unknown different kinds of objects gathering, looking through a microscope.

Would you say "What's gathering?" or "What're gathering?"?

Thanks, GG.

Hiro
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Actually, you'd probably say "What's that?"

By the way, your sentence should have the "Looking through a microscope" in the front, immediately before "you." Otherwise it might appear that those gathering objects are looking through the microscope.
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Yes, indeed.

Looking through the microscope, the butterflies were beautiful.

(Sounds like something from a Gary Larson cartoon!)

As for the who and what, I'd say the rule is the same for both, i.e., used as a subject they always take a singular verb. I understand the "things gathering" example is a way of trying (desperately, perhaps
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Thinking really hard, can you come up with any example at all in which "what" is used as a subject and a singular verb follows it?

Hiro
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"What happens at the end of the book?"
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Oooops! I meant a plural verb.

Hiro
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Emotion: smile

I can't find any that wouldn't be similar to those given by GG...

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