Sub-verb agreement- the waters of the River is or are?

[greystroke]

Hi,

Can someone clarify the following please.

Sentence: Three miles outside the city is kankal Ghat . The waters of the Ganges at this place are very shallow.

Context: The writer is talking about a visit to Haridwar and how he stood in one of the Ghats ( landing places )on the River Ganges for a while .

My question is- should it be " The waters -------- are or is very shallow?"

Isn't the writer thinking of the waters of the Ganges as one unit?

Arun

[Clare James]

The writer has used a plural form of 'water' with an 's'', so you need to use the plural verb form:

'The waters are very shallow.'

or 'The water is very shallow.'

Although, in general, 'water' is considered to be uncountable, in a few phrases, such as 'the waters of the Nile', 'the waters of the Ganges', it can be treated as a countable noun.

[David L.]

Water: a stretch or area of water, such as a river, sea, or lake : the lawns ran down to the water's edge.
• the surface of such an area of water : she ducked under the water.
• [as adj. ] found in, on, or near such areas of water : a water plant.
Waters
the water of a particular sea, river, or lake : the waters of Hudson Bay | and figuratively, the government is taking us into unknown waters with these changes in the legislation.
• an area of sea regarded as under the jurisdiction/legal control of a particular country : Japanese coastal waters.