News article

Hello people,

I was reading an article on Barack Obama's passive attitude towards gun control. I understand the gist of the artcle but there was one sentense that didn't grammatically make sense to me.

Two years of silence suggest Obama feels hemmed in by the zeal of the gun lobby, whose aversion to any Second Amendment limitations are widely thought to have backfired on Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

In the second half, I believe "whose aversion" is the subjest and "are" the verb of the sentense but it appears to me that the verb should be "is" because the subject is singular.
Or is there anything I'm missing...??

Any help would be appreciated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kengo

Hello people,

I was reading an article on Barack Obama's passive attitude towards gun control. I understand the gist of the artcle but there was one sentense that didn't grammatically make sense to me.

Two years of silence suggest Obama feels hemmed in by the zeal of the gun lobby, whose aversion to any Second Amendment limitations are widely thought to have backfired on Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

In the second half, I believe "whose aversion" is the subjest and "are" the verb of the sentense but it appears to me that the verb should be "is" because the subject is singular.
Or is there anything I'm missing...??

Any help would be appriciated.

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Hi there,

You didn't miss anything. The journalist made a "slip of the tongue" under the influence of "limitations" and wrote, therefore, a plural verb.

Greetings,

Charliedeut

"The gun lobby (a group of people who like guns) are..."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kengo

Hello people,

I was reading an article on Barack Obama's passive attitude towards gun control. I understand the gist of the artcle but there was one sentense that didn't grammatically make sense to me.

Two years of silence suggest Obama feels hemmed in by the zeal of the gun lobby, whose aversion to any Second Amendment limitations are widely thought to have backfired on Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

In the second half, I believe "whose aversion" is the subjest and "are" the verb of the sentense but it appears to me that the verb should be "is" because the subject is singular.
Or is there anything I'm missing...??

Any help would be appreciated.

---

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) I agree that "whose aversion" is the subject and the correct verb is

"is."

(2) Most Americans seem to treat "gun lobby" as a singular collective

noun: The gun lobby is very powerful.

I agree with The Parser's response. I imagine that this is not a quote from a US newspaper.

Thank you all for your responses.
I'm glad that everyone agrees that the verb should be "is" rather than "are".

However I asked my American friend this question yesterday and he said:
Look at the phrase "aversion to any Second Amendment limitationS". That's plural. It is implying that there was more than one proposed limitation, each had one or more aversions.

I did not find this quite convingcing but maybe there's some connotation that only native speakers can grasp..??
It would be great to hear more advice and opinions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kengo

Thank you all for your responses.
I'm glad that everyone agrees that the verb should be "is" rather than "are".

However I asked my American friend this question yesterday and he said:
Look at the phrase "aversion to any Second Amendment limitationS". That's plural. It is implying that there was more than one proposed limitation, each had one or more aversions.

I did not find this quite convingcing but maybe there's some connotation that only native speakers can grasp..??
It would be great to hear more advice and opinions.

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Hi there,

IMO, as already said, "are" would only be acceptable if the article said something like "gun lobby, whose complaintS against any Second Amendment limitations..." Only then would a plural verb make sense.

Greetings,

Charliedeut

Quote:

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Originally Posted by riquecohen

I imagine that this is not a quote from a US newspaper.

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I'm not familiar with the American media but I suppose it's American.

Here's a link to the actual article.
Why Obama's Silence on Gun-Control Laws Pleases Nobody - TIME

There appears to be some sllight confusion here, though the right answer is there.

You were right in your original post - I believe "whose aversion" is the subject and "are" the verb of the sentence but it appears to me that the verb should be "is" because the subject is singular", as charliedeut confirmed in post #2, parser in post #4 and riquecohen in post #5. Your friend (post #6) made the same mistake as the writer of the original writer.

Quote:

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It is implying that there was more than one proposed limitation, each had one or more aversions.

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The "aversion" is in general and not a reaction to any particular proposed limitation. There is a never-ending series of proposed limitations.

"Aversion" makes it sound like some sort of emotional reaction, when the political opposition to gun control is based on a principle.