Alas, another singular or plural question

[Nordic Bill]

Looks like I must be making up for lost time here. I came across yet another curio in my collection that has me stumped.

Would you fill in the blank with "was" or "were" here?:
"Sleeping or appearing to be sleeping on the job ___________ grounds for dismissal."

Although grounds is clearly the plural of ground, I am wondering if it might influence declensions since it seems to substitute the singular noun reason or cause.

Thanks,
Bill

[rewboss]

"Grounds" is not the subject of the verb "to be", but the complement -- like an object, except that the complement is also the subject: the verb "to be" acts like an equals sign:

Sleeping on the job = grounds for dismissal

No matter what the complement is, though, the verb agrees with the subject. "Sleeping or appearing to be sleeping" is actually singular (logically, because we mean one or the other, not both), so "was" is correct here.

All the same, "grounds" is plural -- "There were sufficient grounds for his dismissal". It does often refer to something singular, but we're talking grammar here, and grammar doesn't always match up with real life.

[Casiopea]

Additionally, 'or . . .' serves to (re)define 'Sleeping':

Sleeping (or appearing to be sleeping) on the job is grounds for dismissal.

Although grounds is clearly the plural of ground, . . . it seems to substitute the singular noun reason or cause.

Actually, grounds, according to my Oxford, means, "good reasons".

[Nordic Bill]

Thanks to both of you for your replies. Yes, "compliments" can be a bit tricky at times, eg. "The Netherlands is/are a country in Europe". This may be a poor example, though, since we are not referring to several "lands" or "countries", but one.

[Casiopea]

What about?

The United States is/are . . .

[Nordic Bill]

That's another good one. Mind you, we are more conscious of the United States consisting of 50 of them (ie. 'states',which could inspire a plural declension) than the Netherlands consisting of several lands (islands?).
I usually chicken out anyway and say "The US" and "Holland".
Bill

[rewboss]

"The US" means "The United States" anyway. And Holland is only a part of the Netherlands, so you shouldn't use it when you mean the whole country.

But country names, even if they are plural in form, are always grammatically singular. The Netherlands is a country in Europe, and the United States is the world's most powerful country.

[Nordic Bill]

Phew - thanks for clearing that up for me.

I always thought "The Netherlands" and "Holland" were interchangeable and that the '-lands' was merely (this was just a guess of course) based upon the fact that the Dutch shoreline consists of a chain of islands (hence 'lands').