[Grammar] The use of single/plural verbs

[Victor Tregubov]

Good day,

There are some simple sentence (as far as I remember, it is called nominative sentences) with a simple SVO scheme. For example, "John is a teacher".

But there also are examples, when subject is plural and object is singular (or some of them is mass noun).

For example:

She (to be) all the perils of my life.
Mosquitoes (to be) a pain.
My team (to be) these guys - or - There guys (to be) my team

What is the general rule to use plural and singular verbs here? Should they correspond a subject of an object?

 

[jutfrank]

There are some simple sentence (as far as I remember, it is called nominative sentences) with a simple SVO scheme. For example, "John is a teacher".

The noun phrase a teacher isn't an object in that sentence.

But there also are examples, when subject is plural and object is singular (or some of them is mass noun).

For example:

She (to be) all the perils of my life.
Mosquitoes (to be) a pain.
My team (to be) these guys - or - There guys (to be) my team

What is the general rule to use plural and singular verbs here? Should they correspond a subject of an object?

There are cases where a singular subject complement predicates a plural subject, yes:

Mosquitos are a pain.

I'm not sure what kind of rule you're looking for, but I'd say you need to think about meaning rather than grammar in order to make sense of these. The questionably correct sentence My team is these guys will be interpreted as My team comprises these guys.

 

[Victor Tregubov]

Thank you! Sometimes I'm just not sure, should I use "is" or "are".

 

[emsr2d2]

[STRIKE]Good day,[/STRIKE] Old-fashioned

Hello.

There are some simple sentences (as far as I can remember, [STRIKE]it is[/STRIKE] they are called nominative sentences) with a simple SVO scheme. For example, "John is a teacher".

But there also are examples no comma here [STRIKE]when[/STRIKE] in which the subject is plural and the object is singular ([STRIKE]or[/STRIKE] in some of them it is a mass noun).

For example:

She (to be) all the perils of my life.
Mosquitoes (to be) a pain.
My team (to be) these guys - or - There guys (to be) my team

What is the general rule to use plural and singular verbs here? Should they correspond to a subject [STRIKE]of[/STRIKE] or an object?

Thank you! Sometimes I'm just not sure no comma here if I should [STRIKE]I[/STRIKE] use "is" or "are".

Note my corrections above.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

- She is all the perils of my life.

- Mosquitoes are a pain.
- My team is these guys.
- These guys are my team.


Do you see the pattern now?

 

[Tdol]

What is the general rule to use plural and singular verbs here?

Count them. The area where differences occur is with collective nouns like team. Some variants, like Ame, tend to use the singular, while the plural is used more in BrE, though the singular is acceptable.

 

[jutfrank]

Count them. The area where differences occur is with collective nouns like team. Some variants, like Ame, tend to use the singular, while the plural is used more in BrE, though the singular is acceptable.

Victor Tregubov doesn't mean that. He's talking about sentences of the form Xs are Y or Y is Xs (where X and Y are noun phrases).

 

[Tdol]

Who is ever going to get to Mosquitoes is a pain?

 

[Victor Tregubov]

Thanks for your answers!

(I never knew "good day" is old-fashioned)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thanks for your answers!
(I never knew "good day" is old-fashioned.)

Yes. I'm reading a book by Charles Dickens now. That's the kind of phrase his characters use.