Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

1. Little drops of rain peirce the hard marble.
2. A few drops of oil is said to work wonders.

I've seen these two sentences in a book.
Why did the writer use "is" in #2?
Because of " of oil" ? Then, how about "of rain pierce" in #1?
or because "A few drops of oil" is about amount like "Where is that five pounds I lent you"? Then, what about "Little drops of rain pierce"?
Please, tell me about that.

[Anuradha Chepur]

The is is used because of said, as you can see here:

1. Little drops of rain is said to peirce the hard marble.
2. A few drops of oil works wonders.

[Mary W. Ng]

[Anuradha Chepur]

Let me explain once again, sejpw:

I think you doubt is why is is used in #2 and not in #1. This is because in #2, you have a passive form of say, so you have to say is said. If you were you use the passive say in #1, you will use are said in #1 too, and if you are not putting said in #2, there is no is in #2, as I demonstrated earlier and repeated here:


1. Little drops of rain peirce the hard marble.
1'. Little drops of rain are said to peirce the hard marble.

2. A few drops of oil is said to work wonders.
2'. A few drops of oil works wonders.

And yes, for additional information, little drops of rain is plural so the plural verb are/pierce, whereas a few drops of oil is singular, so the singular verbs is/works.

[sejpdw]

Thank you for your kind and sincere explanation.
However, what I don't understand is why " little drops of rain" is regarded plural and " a few drops of oil" singular even though they seem similar in the form of "drops(plural) of rain/oil(uncountable noun).