is or are
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is or are
Well, here's an idiom that helps:
"Too many cooks spoil the broth"
If "Too many cooks" was singular we'd say "spoils" as in "he spoils", but we say "spoil" - so we know it's definitely plural.
Iain
"Too many cooks spoil the broth"
If "Too many cooks" was singular we'd say "spoils" as in "he spoils", but we say "spoil" - so we know it's definitely plural.
Iain
My opinion...
Well, "too many cooks do spoil the broth", but "the broth does not spoil too many cooks".
Whereas "too many cars..." is a subject and one problem; turn it around:
"The problem is (that there are) too many cars."
Whereas "too many cars..." is a subject and one problem; turn it around:
"The problem is (that there are) too many cars."
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RE: Is or are?
Yeah but,
I think "Too many cooks spoil the broth." is a different kind of sentence than "Too many cars is a problem in Japan." Iain is certainly correct that spoil here is plural. But how would it work if we said, "Too many cooks is a problem in the kitchen." The key, I believe, is in the predicate noun phrase, "a problem...", which is clearly singular since only one problem is identified. Link that to the subject, "Too many cooks", and we ought to conclude we have a singular subject.
The original question in this thread is flawed. It is not a matter of which sentence is correct, since both are. But each one means something different.
1. Too many cars is a problem in Japan. is the more likely sentence and probably means that there is a problem in Japan that traffic is very heavy.
2. Too many cars are a problem in Japan. is somewhat awkward, but still correct, if it is meant that certain rather commonly found cars pose some kind of problem, perhaps as gross polluters, for instance.
I think "Too many cooks spoil the broth." is a different kind of sentence than "Too many cars is a problem in Japan." Iain is certainly correct that spoil here is plural. But how would it work if we said, "Too many cooks is a problem in the kitchen." The key, I believe, is in the predicate noun phrase, "a problem...", which is clearly singular since only one problem is identified. Link that to the subject, "Too many cooks", and we ought to conclude we have a singular subject.
The original question in this thread is flawed. It is not a matter of which sentence is correct, since both are. But each one means something different.
1. Too many cars is a problem in Japan. is the more likely sentence and probably means that there is a problem in Japan that traffic is very heavy.
2. Too many cars are a problem in Japan. is somewhat awkward, but still correct, if it is meant that certain rather commonly found cars pose some kind of problem, perhaps as gross polluters, for instance.
"[The fact that there are] too many cars is a problem in Japan"1. Too many cars is a problem in Japan. is the more likely sentence and probably means that there is a problem in Japan that traffic is very heavy.
Along the lines that you described:2. Too many cars are a problem in Japan. is somewhat awkward, but still correct, if it is meant that certain rather commonly found cars pose some kind of problem, perhaps as gross polluters, for instance.
"Too many cars in Japan are causing a problem".
In this example the cars are the do-ers of the sentence, whereas the cars aren't active in the first example.
You could also say, but mean something else entirely
"Having too many cars in Japan is causing a problem".
Iain
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Too many cars...
I think we agree. But you put it more elegantly than I did.
Too many cars...
Gee, shucks!
I couldn't have done it without you!
Iain
I couldn't have done it without you!
Iain
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is the subjunctive being used?
English doesn't really have a subjunctive, and the poor excuse we have is being eroded, in the UK at least, by some barely articulate football commentators, e.g.
"If I were you..." is gradually being replaced by "If I was you".
Iain
"If I were you..." is gradually being replaced by "If I was you".
Iain
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subjunctive
True that British English rarely uses the subjunctive now, but the proverb about the cooks originated a long time a go.
How about "It's a dog eat dog world". Why is the verb not in the third person singular?
Thanks. John.
How about "It's a dog eat dog world". Why is the verb not in the third person singular?
Thanks. John.
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It's a dog eat dog world
Interesting point. However, of course, the sentence verb is in 3sg form. "Dog eat dog world" appears to me to be a noun phrase complimenting the singular subject. My sense of it is that "dog eat dog" is some kind of compound adjective describing what kind of world it is. If I'm right, adjectives, to my recollection, have no sense of singular or plural. It's kind of like "book store" instead of "books store". Others of you may have a different intrepretation.How about "It's a dog eat dog world". Why is the verb not in the third person singular?
Dduck's point, however, about English not having a subjunctive is still valid. The first time I heard this was from Michael Lewis' The English Verb, which remains the seminal work in my view about the grammatical structure of verbs in the English language. I concur with dduck. English simply does not have a subjunctive...period. Dozens of out-of-date textbooks and studybooks notwithstanding. We seriously mislead and confuse our students by claiming that it does.
Larry Latham
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5 sections = 1 page
Well, compare that to the Oxford Spanish Grammar book, which is half the length of Swan's effort - it's needs 16 pages to describe the Subjunctive... and it doesn't cover the Future Subjunctive, as it's virtually obsolete.For the subjunctive not existing, in Michael Swan's book"Practical English Usage", there are five sections on the use of the subjunctive.
Iain