[Grammar] The streets are a dangerous place. --- singular or plural?

[th.19]

Hello teachers,

I have a question about the sentence that I put in the title.

"The streets are a dangerous place."

I'm aware that the phrase "the streets" talks about the streets as a whole, so that is probably why the second half of a sentence is singular.
But can anybody give me an explanation as to why the next two sentences are incorrect? (or maybe they are correct?)

(1) The streets is a dangerous place.
(2) The streets are dangerous places.

Thank you for your help as always.

th.19

 

[Raymott]

Hello teachers,

I have a question about the sentence that I put in the title.

"The streets are a dangerous place."

I'm aware that the phrase "the streets" talks about the streets as a whole, so that is probably why the second half of a sentence is singular.
But can anybody give me an explanation as to why the next two sentences are incorrect? (or maybe they are correct?)

(1) The streets is a dangerous place.
(2) The streets are dangerous places.

Thank you for your help as always.

th.19

You can also say, "The street is a dangerous place." This has a slightly different meaning, usually related to getting run over by cars.
"The streets" means not only the street, but also the sidewalks and back alleys, etc. The danger here is mainly from other humans.
1. is obviously wrong grammatically. If the sentence starts with a plural noun, you can't use a singular verb.
2. is correct grammatically, but it's not idiomatic - because of the explanation you've already given.

 

[th.19]

Dear Mr. or Ms. Raymott,

Thank you for your answer. It cleared everything up!

th.19

 

[emsr2d2]

Dear Mr. or Ms. Raymott,

Thank you for your answer. It cleared everything up!

th.19

There is no need to try to put "Mr" or "Mrs" in front of a username. If you want to use a name, just use the username on its own. Also, you do not need to make a new post to say "Thank you". Just click on the Like button on the post(s) you found helpful.