Job Discussion Forums

[baijioubloke]

Linguists!

Li Ming: "I think her acting is good."
Bill: "And so are her singing and dancing."

When I (now, here goes......) corrected this text book structure today there was a murmur of discontent.

I'm using murmur figuratively, of course, since my class makes no sound at all.

Towhit; "Anyone not done the homework?" - silence
"so, everyone has done the homework?" - silence
I then, quite artfully, walked the rows and identified the students who've done nothing, achieving a hit rate of 9/10 .
(student No. 6 just looked plain guilty).

Anyway I'm digressing. Verb-subject agreement 'rules'.

Singular verb forms can exist when there is some sort of semantic unity between the nouns acting as the subject allowing them to be treat 'as one'.

That's the gist of the explanation I gave to the one bright spark who approached me with her concerns.

I'm conscious that this wasn't the best answer.... and would like to rectify this.

Is it anything to do with the fact that singing and dancing are gerunds?

Would anyone care to share their analysis of why I think it doesn't have to be are - aside from my English being f**ked!?


PS I was right to support the text's 'if it were...' when the students proposed 'if it was...' which I fudged almost as badly stating that "both are fine but 'were' is more formal and less-used.....use whichever feels good for you."

God, I hate grammar on Monday mornings!

[Old Dog]

Whether, in this instance, the speaker uses "is" or "are" depends upon the way he/she is conceptualizing her "activity"/"activities". If the speaker is conceptualizing the two as two separate entities, then "are" will be used. Sometimes she sings, sometimes she dances and each separately is good. But if the speaker is conceptualizing "singing and dancing" as a unity, then "is" would be used. She sings and dances simultaneously. It's the "tout ensemble" that the "is" speaker will be commenting on.

The sensitive listener will, therefore, know how the speaker understands "her" activities. But, if speaker and/or listener were brought up in a world without grammar, where grammar is imbibed with mother's milk, then the problem disappears entirely. Who cares?