[Grammar] Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

[Mori]

It doesn't seem correct to me:

What colors are this dress?

Source: USA Today

I believe the verb should be singular. What do you think and why?

 

[Tarheel]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

I think you are wrong

Color is

OR

Colors are

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

It's incorrect. The subject, this dress, is singular.

With that being said, What colors is this dress is terribly awkward. You're better off finding another way to express the thought.

 

[Mori]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

I think you are wrong

Color is

OR

Colors are

Thanks for the answer, but I don't understand why.
Here's a statement: This dress is black and blue.
If I want to ask a question about black and blue, I use what colors instead of them, and create a question with a simple inversion:
This dress is what colors? >> What colors is this dress?

 

[Mori]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

It's incorrect. The subject, this dress, is singular.

With that being said, What colors is this dress is terribly awkward. You're better off finding another way to express the thought.

What's wrong with "What colors is this dress?" The subject (dress) is singular and the verb is singular, too. It is grammatical, then. ��

 

[Tarheel]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

The dress is black and blue.

"The dress" is the (singular) subject.

You are an English teacher. Why are you asking such questions?

 

[Tarheel]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

What's wrong with "What colors is this dress?" The subject (dress) is singular and the verb is singular, too. It is grammatical, then. ��

No, it's not. Can you figure out why?

 

[jutfrank]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

What's wrong with "What colors is this dress?" The subject (dress) is singular and the verb is singular, too. It is grammatical, then. ��

This question has already been answered in post #3. It's not the grammar that's wrong, it's the way it sounds.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

What's wrong with "What colors is this dress?" The subject (dress) is singular and the verb is singular, too. It is grammatical, then.

Many statements are grammatically defensible but sound so wrong that no one would say them. The problem with this one is that the reader will likely stop reading after What colors is. The combination looks so wrong that they'll be too distracted to consider the words that follow.

 

[Mori]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

Many statements are grammatically defensible but sound so wrong that no one would say them. The problem with this one is that the reader will likely stop reading after What colors is. The combination looks so wrong that they'll be too distracted to consider the words that follow.

I understand! :up:

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

Thanks for the answer, but I don't understand why.
Here's a statement: This dress is black and blue.
If I want to ask a question about black and blue, I use what colors instead of them, and create a question with a simple inversion:
This dress is what colors? >> What colors are this dress?

The dress is. > The dress is black and blue.
The colors are. > The colors are black and blue.

To be safe, it never hurts to make verbs agree with subjects. In those sentences, the subjects come before the verbs.

Easy, right?

 

[Mori]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

The dress is. > The dress is black and blue.
The colors are. > The colors are black and blue.

To be safe, it never hurts to make verbs agree with subjects. In those sentences, the subjects come before the verbs.

Easy, right?

Not really: In "What colors are this dress?" the subject is this dress, not what colors — what colors is the subject complement, and as far as I know, in English there should be an agreement between the verb and the subject, not the complement.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

Not really: In "What colors are this dress?" the subject is this dress, not what colors: what colors is the subject complement, and as far as I know, in English there should be an agreement between the subject and the verb, not the complement.

I didn't use that sentence. I used:

The dress is. > The dress is black and blue.
The colors are. > The colors are black and blue.

I said "In those sentences." I was not invoking some universal rule.

So, okay, let me put it another way. In those sentences and in your "What colors are this dress?" the verbs agree with the nouns before them.

In that kind of sentence, agreeing with the preceding noun sounds good.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

Leaving the agreement question aside, I think the natural way to ask the question is What color is this dress? The answer could be "Red, green, and black." The question is natural in the singular regardless of how many colors are involved.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

Leaving the agreement question aside, I think the natural way to ask the question is What color is this dress? The answer could be "Red, green, and black." The question is natural in the singular regardless of how many colors are involved.

Good point. Glad you made it.

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

In what situation would you need to ask 'What colour is/colours are this dress?'

If the dress is right there, you can see it for yourself. If you're in a dress shop, you can ask 'What colours does this dress come in?' If you're teaching a child about colours, you can ask 'What colours can you see in this dress?' (assuming there's more than one).

 

[jutfrank]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

I imagine the context is that famous and utterly fascinating 2015 viral photograph, now entitled The Dress.

If this is the context that Mori is thinking of, then I think that complicates the question, since there is a good reason to use colours in the plural.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress


(It's off topic, I know, but I would be interested to know what colours our members think this dress is.)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

I imagine the context is that famous and utterly fascinating 2015 viral photograph, now entitled The Dress.

If this is the context that Mori is thinking of, then I think that complicates the question, since there is a good reason to use colours in the plural.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress


(It's off topic, I know, but I would be interested to know what colours our members think this dress is.)

On my screen it's blue and slate.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

I imagine the context is that famous and utterly fascinating 2015 viral photograph, now entitled The Dress.

If this is the context that Mori is thinking of, then I think that complicates the question, since there is a good reason to use colours in the plural.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress


(It's off topic, I know, but I would be interested to know what colours our members think this dress is.)

Ouch. I really want to see the singular "colour" there. My answer is white and gold. It doesn't matter which screen I use.

 

[jutfrank]

Re: Subject-verb agreement: Is it correct to say, "What colors are this dress?"

On my screen it's blue and slate.

The point is that it's blue and slate in your mind, not on the screen. Others looking at the same screen will see white and gold.

Thank for the data, though!