General Chat

....are....

As I understand it words like 'couple' and 'family' are both plural and singular and the correct usage depends on the context.. Generally what sounds right is and there has to be consistency in the sentence. In 'The next couple are Jack and Jill ' the context is plural because you have split them with the 'and'. If the context is singular shouldn't you say 'The next couple is Jack, with Jill.' You surely wouldn't say 'The next couple is Jack and Jill and they IS going to dance the tango' Sounds like Ali G. Anyway thats my twopence worth Bob

You've got me at it now.....I have been sweeping the kitchen floor debating with myself.....is.....are......is .....are.... I can see the reasoning behind is.....and cannot now be sure that I am correct in saying are.....but... If we are talking groups, they are collective......and' the group is 'sounds correct...so in this context, if you say 'the group is going to the zoo' and then add the collective to that sentence 'we'.....you would not say the group is going to the zoo and we is going to see the animals, in that way you would use are......so you see my confusion.....

OC - our teacher of English told us that we could only use the word 'nice' when talking about food.

I was going to say Gwynne that perhaps you were my teacher....she was a stickler for the correct use of the apostrophe,.....but I know we are of the same age.....

See I told you I would be wrong lol I'll just go stand in the corner with a dunces cap on lol Jackiexx

Memories of my years teaching O level English Language at night school are coming back to haunt me. When I taught infants not one child left my class unable to know when and when not to use an apostrophe. I am sometimes reminded of this by ex pupils at the pub quiz............... Gwynne

As the 'couple' are a unit, and operate as a unit, they should be known as 'IT' so 'IS' is fine. 'it' is singular as is the 'unit' Baz xx

If you are taking couple as singular then you would have to say. 'the next couple is Jack and JILL and IT (the couple singular) is going to dance the tango' or 'the next couple are Jack and JILL and they ARE (the couple plural ) going to dance the tango' Surely the latter sounds correct and consistant. Bob ( think I'll have a beer )

Hi, Should definitely be 'IS' as it is a collective noun. Sylvia xxx

the next couple is singular - 1 couple -therefore 'IS', is correct. Caz

Hi, You should listen to the language on 'Ready, Steady Cook' when they refer to a drop of milk or wine as 'a bit of'. All liquid should surely be a drop of. Sylvia xxx

oh dear what did I start lol

The plural of couple is couples, so one couple is.....and two couples are......

'A couple' is singular. A couple IS..... len

I agree with Gwyneth..the 'couple' are 'one' item. What about this one? ........TWINS..and the next twina ....is or are?

Definitely 'is' for a couple. Kath. x

The correct answer for one couple is always 'is'. In the sentence Bob used 'The next couple is Jack and Jill and they IS going to dance the tango' I think it should be 'The next couple is Jack and Jill: and they are going to dance the tango' The semi-colon makes all the difference. We have two clauses there instead of one. The 'they' in the second clause obviously refers back to the named persons. However a sentence could go 'The next couple is from France and is going to dance the tango.' This is one of the occasions when what is correct in English may sound wrong to speakers. Many people will happily say 'If I was you.' but that should be the subjunctive and go 'If I were you.' There's also 'Me and my hubby' in the original message which should be 'My husband and I.' Sue

Peter.. ''Almost Unique''? an impossibility surely.. You are either Unique, or not......there is no in between..... Bob ( who IS unique) The next couple IS.............. or the next pair ARE..............

Moira Twin IS Twins ARE. Twin is not a collective noun, it is an ordinary noun and the plural of an ordinary noun is to add an S. EG: The dog is running down the street. The dogs ARE running down the street - you wouldnt say, the dogs IS running down the street. OC