The chances that the spring ... may belong to us too

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blwings

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"The chances that the spring, that's for everyone, like in the popular songs, may belong to us too — the chances are pretty bright at this time because as usual, I can carry most of contemporary literary opinion, liquidated, in the hollow of my hand — and when I do, I see the swan floating on it and — I find it to be you and you only."

I met this sentence in F. Scott Fitzgerald's letter to his wife Zelda.
I wonder if there is an ellipsis of "are" in the bolded part because I saw the phrase "the chances are that" a lot of times.
 

Tarheel

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"The chances that the spring, that's for everyone, like in the popular songs, may belong to us too — the chances are pretty bright at this time because as usual, I can carry most of contemporary literary opinion, liquidated, in the hollow of my hand — and when I do, I see the swan floating on it and — I find it to be you and you only."

I saw this sentence in F. Scott Fitzgerald's letter to his wife Zelda.
I wonder if there is an ellipsis of "are" in the bolded part because I saw the phrase "the chances are that" a lot of times.

The word "are" does indeed seem to have been left out of that phrase. (I probably wouldn't have dwelled on that and would have simply kept reading.)
 

stanislaw.masny

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I think singular is correct here because it is about spring, not chanses. But this is my private feeling. I'm neither a teacher nor native speaker.of English.
 
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