Education Questions and Answers
Grammatically Correct?
Question:Ok, this is a really stupid question, but I just want to be sure!
Do I put "is" or "are" for the following sentence? I wasn't sure if I refer to the uncertainty or the thoughts. I'm going to be an English major next year as a freshman, and when I ask questions like this I start worrying. : (
: Furthering the captain’s uncertainty is are his thoughts of himself
Answers:
"are" I don't know why..it just sounds better.
are, because the object of the verb is thoughts, which is plural
are---thoughts is plural...
uncertainity is...himself. Just because the object of the verb is plural doesn't mean the verb is plural--A verb is plural when the subject is plural. Uncertainty is singular so verb has to be singular. Captain's is an adjective to uncertainity so you dont need to be concerned whether it is singular or plural.
is
Are
You're directly referring to "his thoughts", which is plural.
I'm 100% certain by the way, ignore the "is" replies above!
Furthering the captain’s uncertainty are his thoughts of himself
now answer my question!
are
Id say 'are' since they are acting on the uncertainty.
are
Don`t forget to check your punctuation. Add a period after a sentence. ..himself.
Definitely "are". Even though the apparent subject is the gerund "furthering", which is singular, using "is" sounds much more awkward than "are".
ARE
The sentence is transposed, the subject after the predicate. Putting it into a more natural order makes it clear the subject is plural and thus the verb should take the plural form.
The captain's thoughts of himself further his uncertainty.
This is confusing. Kay, it would make more sense to put 'is' because the word uncertainty is single. And if the word uncertainty was plural (uncertainties) then you would put 'are'. But when you read the sentence, and try it with 'is' and 'are', 'are' just sounds better. So if I were you, I would put 'are',because then again, the word 'thoughts' is plural, so it makes sense.
Hope I helped.
I think it should be 'are'
because it's refering to 'his thoughts'
are. because thoughts is plural.
^__^ happy to help...
The correct answer is ARE.
Try writing the sentence another way:
"His thoughts...ARE...furthering the captain's uncertainty."
"His thoughts of himself ARE furthering the captain's uncertainty."
"The captain's thoughts of himself ARE furthering his uncertainty."
The word "thoughts" is the the subject. Since it's plural, you use "are" as the predicate.
Definitely "are". Whenever you are confused try to change the sentence around, i.e. "The captain's thoughts ARE furthering his uncertainty." Sometimes when we try to write more poetically we lose what the subject of the sentence really is, just rephrase it in your head and you'll always get the answer! Good luck in college!
If I understand your comment, the straightforward, simple version would be, "The captain's thoughts of himself ... (is/are) furthering his uncertainty." Looking at it that way makes it easier to see that your subject is 'thoughts', which needs 'are' to match its plurality. You may have a good reason for making the sentence so convoluted (and, therefore, difficult). But if not, it's better to be simple & straightforward. That way, real people can understand your writing - which is, after all, the purpose of it in the first place - to communicate.
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