Raymott
VIP Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2008
- Member Type
- Academic
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- Australia
- Current Location
- Australia
If your vocabulary is similar to that of others, and your word order is similar to that of others, then your vocabulary and word order is similar to that of others. So, I've compounded the felony by giving the two items a singular verb as well. And that is the question of this type that we get most often - the singular verb.
The answer is usually that if we can conceptualise the two items as being two facets of the one thing (grammar), then we can refer to that one thing with singular words, like 'is' and 'that'.
Here are some examples
“Their capture and successful prosecution is what we want”.
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/compound-subjects
This could be written as "Their capture and successful prosecution is the only thing we want”. Thus, once you use a single verb, you can use other single referents, or it would sound odd.
"What is her name and date of birth?" A compound subject, explained thus:
"In American English, "name and date of birth" are seen together so often that they are often considered to be a single unit."
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/compound-subjects-and-verb-number
So, we may consider pronunciation and word order to be a single unit - even though, like her name and her date of birth, they are obviously different things.
Not everyone agrees with this licentious behaviour. Probably most websites about compound subjects (that I've sampled) toe the line, and say that a compound subject joined by 'and' takes a plural verb (and, by implication, referents). These sites also say that 'none' always takes a single verb, whereas here, we know that that's not necessarily true. At least, from memory, none of us have been as dogmatic as that.
The answer is usually that if we can conceptualise the two items as being two facets of the one thing (grammar), then we can refer to that one thing with singular words, like 'is' and 'that'.
Here are some examples
“Their capture and successful prosecution is what we want”.
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/compound-subjects
This could be written as "Their capture and successful prosecution is the only thing we want”. Thus, once you use a single verb, you can use other single referents, or it would sound odd.
"What is her name and date of birth?" A compound subject, explained thus:
"In American English, "name and date of birth" are seen together so often that they are often considered to be a single unit."
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/compound-subjects-and-verb-number
So, we may consider pronunciation and word order to be a single unit - even though, like her name and her date of birth, they are obviously different things.
Not everyone agrees with this licentious behaviour. Probably most websites about compound subjects (that I've sampled) toe the line, and say that a compound subject joined by 'and' takes a plural verb (and, by implication, referents). These sites also say that 'none' always takes a single verb, whereas here, we know that that's not necessarily true. At least, from memory, none of us have been as dogmatic as that.
