3 ms·

Can we talk about grammar? I've noticed it is becoming normal not to use the plural 'are', this title is triggering for me. Even on primetime TV I'm hearing 'is

by rr808 4y ago

Can we talk about grammar? I've noticed it is becoming normal not to use the plural 'are', this title is triggering for me. Even on primetime TV I'm hearing 'is' everywhere, does anyone else complain or am I just getting old?

rmccue 4y ago
“All” is acting as a singular noun here, so the grammar is correct: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/01/all-for-one.html https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/01/all-for-one.html
- rr808 4y ago
  Damn now I'm triggered and confused. I'm not sure if I believe this, will have to look closer. Grammarly accepts either way.
JimBlackwood 4y ago
Hah, funny! I genuinely did not notice until you mentioned it and I reread the sentence using ‘are’. Extra funny because I’ve been caught noticing myself using english plurals in my native language. (so for 'lantaarnpaal' the plural would be 'lantaarnpalen' but I’ve been saying 'lantaarnpaals') I guess it might just be how language evolves, it’s interesting to see it happen. I wonder if grammar books will ever adjust to these changes?
rajamaka 4y ago
It's a play on the song "All I want for Christmas is you"
- rr808 4y ago
  Nice, I'm grumpy about hearing that song every 5 minutes as well. :)
- semireg 4y ago
  The original play might have been this 1947 classic All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_I_Want_for_Christmas_Is_My_Two_Front_Teeth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_I_Want_for_Christmas_Is_My...
  - djur 4y ago
    I think this feels grammatical to native speakers because "my two front teeth" is interpreted as a single item or gift. There's kind of an elided "to have" there: "all I want for Christmas is to have my two front teeth". "these seven TypeScript improvements" don't form a coherent whole in the same way, so it feels ungrammatical.
    - tshaddox 4y ago
      I think it’s because “all” is a singular noun and the subject of the verb “is.” I would use “is” even with a list of items at the end of the sentence.
wruza 4y ago
Not a native speaker, but I feel the distinction between “these are …” and “all I want is these …”. In the first case the verb works (for me) with the pronoun’s own plurality, but in the second case “all” accumulates an inanimate multitude into a singular set. Does English have a special rule? English.SE doesn’t seem to have a clear answer for this.
- rr808 4y ago
  If its plural it should be 'are'. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/is-vs-are/ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/is-vs-are/ I think its clear but just comes from using the language a long time. Like I said its very common in the USA for people to use 'is' everywhere now.
Traubenfuchs 4y ago
I would rather give everyone a shock collar that triggers when they add -ish to an adjective or adverb instead of using proper vocabulary.
victorNicollet 4y ago
English is not my native language, but looking at the French equivalent, wouldn't the choice of 'X is Y' or 'X are Y' be based on whether X is plural, as opposed to Y ? "Bob is three kids in a trench coat" sounds better than "Bob are three kids in a trench coat" What's the rule for cases where it is not known whether X is singular or plural ? Phrases like "What we found" or "All I want for Christmas", for example. French grammar has several rules where, if a word must agree with a still unknown number or gender, then singular masculine is used: "J'ai mangé une pomme" vs. "La pomme que j'ai mangée" (the verb agrees with the apple only if the apple appears before it in the sentence). EDIT: I just realized that "All I want for Christmas" may actually be a plural, but "All I want for Christmas are a cookie" sounds strange...

by rr808 4y ago

rmccue 4y ago

“All” is acting as a singular noun here, so the grammar is correct: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/01/all-for-one.html https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2013/01/all-for-one.html

rr808 4y ago
Damn now I'm triggered and confused. I'm not sure if I believe this, will have to look closer. Grammarly accepts either way.

JimBlackwood 4y ago

Hah, funny! I genuinely did not notice until you mentioned it and I reread the sentence using ‘are’. Extra funny because I’ve been caught noticing myself using english plurals in my native language. (so for 'lantaarnpaal' the plural would be 'lantaarnpalen' but I’ve been saying 'lantaarnpaals') I guess it might just be how language evolves, it’s interesting to see it happen. I wonder if grammar books will ever adjust to these changes?

rajamaka 4y ago

It's a play on the song "All I want for Christmas is you"

rr808 4y ago
Nice, I'm grumpy about hearing that song every 5 minutes as well. :)
semireg 4y ago
The original play might have been this 1947 classic All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_I_Want_for_Christmas_Is_My_Two_Front_Teeth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_I_Want_for_Christmas_Is_My...
- djur 4y ago
  I think this feels grammatical to native speakers because "my two front teeth" is interpreted as a single item or gift. There's kind of an elided "to have" there: "all I want for Christmas is to have my two front teeth". "these seven TypeScript improvements" don't form a coherent whole in the same way, so it feels ungrammatical.
  - tshaddox 4y ago
    I think it’s because “all” is a singular noun and the subject of the verb “is.” I would use “is” even with a list of items at the end of the sentence.

wruza 4y ago

Not a native speaker, but I feel the distinction between “these are …” and “all I want is these …”. In the first case the verb works (for me) with the pronoun’s own plurality, but in the second case “all” accumulates an inanimate multitude into a singular set. Does English have a special rule? English.SE doesn’t seem to have a clear answer for this.

rr808 4y ago
If its plural it should be 'are'. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/is-vs-are/ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/is-vs-are/ I think its clear but just comes from using the language a long time. Like I said its very common in the USA for people to use 'is' everywhere now.

Traubenfuchs 4y ago

I would rather give everyone a shock collar that triggers when they add -ish to an adjective or adverb instead of using proper vocabulary.

victorNicollet 4y ago

English is not my native language, but looking at the French equivalent, wouldn't the choice of 'X is Y' or 'X are Y' be based on whether X is plural, as opposed to Y ? "Bob is three kids in a trench coat" sounds better than "Bob are three kids in a trench coat" What's the rule for cases where it is not known whether X is singular or plural ? Phrases like "What we found" or "All I want for Christmas", for example. French grammar has several rules where, if a word must agree with a still unknown number or gender, then singular masculine is used: "J'ai mangé une pomme" vs. "La pomme que j'ai mangée" (the verb agrees with the apple only if the apple appears before it in the sentence). EDIT: I just realized that "All I want for Christmas" may actually be a plural, but "All I want for Christmas are a cookie" sounds strange...