I think it is you

[bulging]

Hello
Could anybody please take a look at this if it is OK?

1. I think it is you who (singer) make the song is so well rated

thanks

 

[Raymott]

"I think it is you, the singer, who makes the song so well rated."

 

[emsr2d2]

I would hyphenate "well-rated".

 

[Raymott]

I would hyphenate "well-rated".

I considered that, but thought that if I put 'well-rated', someone would almost certainly suggest that they'd leave the hyphen out.
The hyphen is fine. I'd certainly use one in a construction like "a well-muscled man" to avoid the suggestion that the man was both well and muscled. That is, in an attributive position, the hyphen would be necessary. In a predicative adjective, as here, there's no ambiguity.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I would not use the hyphen when the phrase is a predicate adjective. Most style guides I have read discourage that.

 

[Rover_KE]

bulging, I hope you now appreciate why your four sentences needed separate threads and why I insisted on it.

 

[TheParser]

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

Hello, Bulging:

For easier analysis, I have simplified your sentence.

In English grammar, sometimes there is more than one way to analyze a sentence.

1. It is you who make the song so popular.
2. It is you who makes the song so popular.

According to my books, the historically correct sentence is #2. That is: Who makes the song so popular + is + you.

But my books remind me that nowdays many people prefer #1. They analyze "who" as a relative pronoun modifying the word "you." And we would, as you know, say "You make the song so popular."

*****

I do not know which sentence is preferred by most speakers here in the United States, but I prefer #1.




James

 

[MikeNewYork]

Do you really have book citations that recommend #1?

 

[TheParser]

My message was not published in the format that I had typed it.

I will try again later.

The short answer to MikeNewYork's question is YES.

 

[MikeNewYork]

MikeNework would love to see them, if they refer to the singular "you", as in this case.

 

[TheParser]

MikeNework would love to see them, if they refer to the singular "you", as in this case.

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


1. One scholar explains:

a. "It's you that is marvelous." That is the "correct" form.
b. But it is common to say "It's you that are marvelous."
c. His explanation: "The subordinate clause, which is really a subject clause, is construed as an attributive relative clause."

-- George Curme, A Grammar of the English Language.

*****

2. Another member has told me that you are well acquainted the "books" section of Google. I typed "It is you who" and was given many examples of presumably good authors who used IT IS YOU WHO + plural verb.


James

 

[Barb_D]

It is worth pointing out that Curme wrote in the 1930s.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Yes, but that is because "you" can be plural as well as singular. If I am speaking to an individual, I say "It is you who makes a difference." If I am speaking to a group, I say "It is you who make a difference". I can't think of any other way to do it.

 

[TheParser]

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

I was astonished ("shocked," actually) to learn that Barbara, an American writer, seems to endorse the majority view in this thread.

I am pretty sure that most Americans would consider "who make this song so popular" as simply an adjective clause modifying "you." Of course, most would be a little rusty on their grammar, so they probably could not explain their choice, except to point out that "who" follows the word "you."

For example, I may be wrong (although I do not believe that I am) that most Americans would "naturally" say something like:

"Don't believe what other people are telling you, Tom. It is you who are my best friend!"

I doubt that most Americans would accept "It is you who is my best friend." (Yes, grammatically, it is correct. But today most Americans, for example, expect "It is me" over the "correct" "It is I.")

*****

I can only assume that many of the posters in this thread also disagree with this sentence in Descriptive English Grammar by House and Harman:

"It is I who am at fault." The authors explain that "the verb 'am' shows us that the relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person and number."

*****

I am very concerned that some learners who come to the United States and say "It is you who is my best friend" may be confused if some Americans (even some teachers) look at them askance.


James

 

[MikeNewYork]

First of all, you have strayed from the original sentence.

It is you (the singer) who makes the song....
It is you (the singers) who make the song....

Do those sentences shock and amaze you and cause you concern? If so, why"

 

[TheParser]

[1] It is you (the singer) who makes the song....
[2] Do those sentences shock and amaze you and cause you concern?

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

[2] I was not shocked by the SENTENCES. I WAS shocked by the fact that an AMERICAN writer seems to agree with the majority view.

[1] It is you (the singer) who ____ the song ....
It is you, the singer, who ____ the song ....
It is you -- the singer -- who ____ the song.

As I tried to explain (very poorly, obviously):

The "correct" sentence is, indeed, "It is you who makes ...."

I also unsuccessfully tried to explain that in current American English, most speakers have decided that one is dealing with an adjective clause. Thus, I have no doubt whatsoever that most Americans would say "It is you who make ...."

*****

The appositive term "the singer" does not affect the verb choice. As you know, an appositive can be deleted without any effect on the grammar of a sentence.


James

 

[Rover_KE]

Again, bulging, imagine if this had been just one of the four sentences under discussion in the same thread.:roll:

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with your three sentences. But, you left "It is you (the singers -- an entire group of singers) who make the song" off your list. Did you miss that or did you do that on purpose? Should it still be "makes" in your opinion?

As to the rest, I doubt that you speak for most American speakers. From where do you draw that authority? The appositive does not affect the verb but the context does. When the context is a number of singers, it is incorrect to use a singular verb, IMO.

 

[TheParser]

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


Admittedly, I am a bad reader, but I am confused by your latest questions.

IMO, the sentences that most Americans would prefer are:

1. It is you, a singer, who make this song so popular.
2. It is you (all) who make this song so popular.

The OP's sentence referred only to #1. So I realized that either "makes" (which is the grammatically correct one) or "make" (the one that most Americans prefer) should be considered "correct."

*****

You are right to doubt that I "speak for most American speakers." I base my OPINIONS on having spoken only English for 77 years and -- as with most people of my age -- having done a lot of reading.

*****

I think that you and I are getting dangerously close to making the moderators lose their patience.

You have stated your views very eloquently, and the other posters agree with you.

I have done a very bad job in stating my views, and no one has come to the defense of poor little James.

You will never change my views.

I certainly will never change yours.

*****

I will now let you get back to doing what you do so well -- giving elegant answers to OPs.


Have a nice day,



James

 

[MikeNewYork]

Fair enough.