Noun clause (singular all the time?)
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}
I have asked one grammarian about this and she ended up being unsure of her answer.
Question: is there a possibility that a noun clause is used in a plural manner? For instance:
- Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME.
- WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose.
Should the word "scare" be "scares" in the examples?
Should "are" be "is" then?
grammar verb-agreement noun-phrases
asked 3 hours ago
Fadli SheikhFadli Sheikh
223
add a comment |
I have asked one grammarian about this and she ended up being unsure of her answer.
Question: is there a possibility that a noun clause is used in a plural manner? For instance:
- Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME.
- WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose.
Should the word "scare" be "scares" in the examples?
Should "are" be "is" then?
grammar verb-agreement noun-phrases
asked 3 hours ago
Fadli SheikhFadli Sheikh
223
add a comment |
I have asked one grammarian about this and she ended up being unsure of her answer.
Question: is there a possibility that a noun clause is used in a plural manner? For instance:
- Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME.
- WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose.
Should the word "scare" be "scares" in the examples?
Should "are" be "is" then?
grammar verb-agreement noun-phrases
asked 3 hours ago
Fadli SheikhFadli Sheikh
223
I have asked one grammarian about this and she ended up being unsure of her answer.
Question: is there a possibility that a noun clause is used in a plural manner? For instance:
- Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME.
- WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose.
Should the word "scare" be "scares" in the examples?
Should "are" be "is" then?
grammar verb-agreement noun-phrases
grammar verb-agreement noun-phrases
asked 3 hours ago
Fadli SheikhFadli Sheikh
223
asked 3 hours ago
Fadli SheikhFadli Sheikh
223
asked 3 hours ago
Fadli SheikhFadli Sheikh
223
asked 3 hours ago
Fadli SheikhFadli Sheikh
223
asked 3 hours ago
Fadli SheikhFadli Sheikh
223
223
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
Interesting question :)
I'd say this is an example of a fused relative (see e.g. CaGEL* p 1073); that is, what scares me is not a clause at all, but a noun phrase, where what is a fusion between the head function and the relativised element of a postmodifying relative clause. In this case it could be paraphrased either as that which scares me where that is the head, and which is the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scares me, or as the things which scare me, where the determiner the, the head things and the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scare me have fused.
In answer to your question, then, it could be what scare me are her eyes and nose as well as what scares me is her eyes and nose.
answered 1 hour ago
HannahHannah
308210
1
Yeah, it's short for the thing that scares me, or in this case, it could just as easily be the things that scare me. Since this is a commutable verb phrase, Her eyes and nose are what scare(s) me is just as good. And either singular or plural will do for scare(s), since what can mark either number. It depends, in other words, on what you mean.
– John Lawler
50 mins ago
1
@JohnLawler Thank you – that's what I was uncertain about. I'll edit my answer to make it clearer :)
– Hannah
39 mins ago
add a comment |
It's right as you had it: 'scare' and 'are'. 'Eyes and nose' are three things and require plural verbs. 'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms.
answered 1 hour ago
Philip WoodPhilip Wood
4676
The first part of the first example is correct, yes, but not the rest, right? Is that what you mean? Also, I'm curious about your last sentence there – "'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms" – what do you mean by that? Would it be possible to clarify?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
(a) "Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME." - "WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose." Both are right. (b) 'What' is always 'what'; it doesn't change form according to whether one object or more than one object is being referred to.
– Philip Wood
1 hour ago
Ah, right, now I see what you meant by that last sentence, and of course you're right about that – that it doesn't change its form, I mean. It's always singular. :) I disagree with the rest though – surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
"surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?" Verbs change their form according to whether the subject of the sentence or clause is singular or plural. "scares' and "is" are third person SINGULAR forms, but the subject is plural (two eyes plus one nose!).
– Philip Wood
55 mins ago
1
'what' ISN'T singular: 'what' can refer to either singular or plural.In your sentence you can replace "what" by "the things that". I'd like to apologise for an unintentionally patronising tone, by the way.
– Philip Wood
50 mins ago
|
show 2 more comments
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f496421%2fnoun-clause-singular-all-the-time%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Interesting question :)
I'd say this is an example of a fused relative (see e.g. CaGEL* p 1073); that is, what scares me is not a clause at all, but a noun phrase, where what is a fusion between the head function and the relativised element of a postmodifying relative clause. In this case it could be paraphrased either as that which scares me where that is the head, and which is the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scares me, or as the things which scare me, where the determiner the, the head things and the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scare me have fused.
In answer to your question, then, it could be what scare me are her eyes and nose as well as what scares me is her eyes and nose.
answered 1 hour ago
HannahHannah
308210
1
Yeah, it's short for the thing that scares me, or in this case, it could just as easily be the things that scare me. Since this is a commutable verb phrase, Her eyes and nose are what scare(s) me is just as good. And either singular or plural will do for scare(s), since what can mark either number. It depends, in other words, on what you mean.
– John Lawler
50 mins ago
1
@JohnLawler Thank you – that's what I was uncertain about. I'll edit my answer to make it clearer :)
– Hannah
39 mins ago
add a comment |
Interesting question :)
I'd say this is an example of a fused relative (see e.g. CaGEL* p 1073); that is, what scares me is not a clause at all, but a noun phrase, where what is a fusion between the head function and the relativised element of a postmodifying relative clause. In this case it could be paraphrased either as that which scares me where that is the head, and which is the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scares me, or as the things which scare me, where the determiner the, the head things and the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scare me have fused.
In answer to your question, then, it could be what scare me are her eyes and nose as well as what scares me is her eyes and nose.
answered 1 hour ago
HannahHannah
308210
1
Yeah, it's short for the thing that scares me, or in this case, it could just as easily be the things that scare me. Since this is a commutable verb phrase, Her eyes and nose are what scare(s) me is just as good. And either singular or plural will do for scare(s), since what can mark either number. It depends, in other words, on what you mean.
– John Lawler
50 mins ago
1
@JohnLawler Thank you – that's what I was uncertain about. I'll edit my answer to make it clearer :)
– Hannah
39 mins ago
add a comment |
Interesting question :)
I'd say this is an example of a fused relative (see e.g. CaGEL* p 1073); that is, what scares me is not a clause at all, but a noun phrase, where what is a fusion between the head function and the relativised element of a postmodifying relative clause. In this case it could be paraphrased either as that which scares me where that is the head, and which is the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scares me, or as the things which scare me, where the determiner the, the head things and the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scare me have fused.
In answer to your question, then, it could be what scare me are her eyes and nose as well as what scares me is her eyes and nose.
answered 1 hour ago
HannahHannah
308210
Interesting question :)
I'd say this is an example of a fused relative (see e.g. CaGEL* p 1073); that is, what scares me is not a clause at all, but a noun phrase, where what is a fusion between the head function and the relativised element of a postmodifying relative clause. In this case it could be paraphrased either as that which scares me where that is the head, and which is the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scares me, or as the things which scare me, where the determiner the, the head things and the relativised subject of the postmodifying relative clause which scare me have fused.
In answer to your question, then, it could be what scare me are her eyes and nose as well as what scares me is her eyes and nose.
answered 1 hour ago
HannahHannah
308210
edited 30 mins ago
answered 1 hour ago
HannahHannah
308210
answered 1 hour ago
HannahHannah
308210
answered 1 hour ago
HannahHannah
308210
308210
1
Yeah, it's short for the thing that scares me, or in this case, it could just as easily be the things that scare me. Since this is a commutable verb phrase, Her eyes and nose are what scare(s) me is just as good. And either singular or plural will do for scare(s), since what can mark either number. It depends, in other words, on what you mean.
– John Lawler
50 mins ago
1
@JohnLawler Thank you – that's what I was uncertain about. I'll edit my answer to make it clearer :)
– Hannah
39 mins ago
add a comment |
1
Yeah, it's short for the thing that scares me, or in this case, it could just as easily be the things that scare me. Since this is a commutable verb phrase, Her eyes and nose are what scare(s) me is just as good. And either singular or plural will do for scare(s), since what can mark either number. It depends, in other words, on what you mean.
– John Lawler
50 mins ago
1
@JohnLawler Thank you – that's what I was uncertain about. I'll edit my answer to make it clearer :)
– Hannah
39 mins ago
1
1
Yeah, it's short for the thing that scares me, or in this case, it could just as easily be the things that scare me. Since this is a commutable verb phrase, Her eyes and nose are what scare(s) me is just as good. And either singular or plural will do for scare(s), since what can mark either number. It depends, in other words, on what you mean.
– John Lawler
50 mins ago
Yeah, it's short for the thing that scares me, or in this case, it could just as easily be the things that scare me. Since this is a commutable verb phrase, Her eyes and nose are what scare(s) me is just as good. And either singular or plural will do for scare(s), since what can mark either number. It depends, in other words, on what you mean.
– John Lawler
50 mins ago
1
1
@JohnLawler Thank you – that's what I was uncertain about. I'll edit my answer to make it clearer :)
– Hannah
39 mins ago
@JohnLawler Thank you – that's what I was uncertain about. I'll edit my answer to make it clearer :)
– Hannah
39 mins ago
add a comment |
It's right as you had it: 'scare' and 'are'. 'Eyes and nose' are three things and require plural verbs. 'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms.
answered 1 hour ago
Philip WoodPhilip Wood
4676
The first part of the first example is correct, yes, but not the rest, right? Is that what you mean? Also, I'm curious about your last sentence there – "'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms" – what do you mean by that? Would it be possible to clarify?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
(a) "Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME." - "WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose." Both are right. (b) 'What' is always 'what'; it doesn't change form according to whether one object or more than one object is being referred to.
– Philip Wood
1 hour ago
Ah, right, now I see what you meant by that last sentence, and of course you're right about that – that it doesn't change its form, I mean. It's always singular. :) I disagree with the rest though – surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
"surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?" Verbs change their form according to whether the subject of the sentence or clause is singular or plural. "scares' and "is" are third person SINGULAR forms, but the subject is plural (two eyes plus one nose!).
– Philip Wood
55 mins ago
1
'what' ISN'T singular: 'what' can refer to either singular or plural.In your sentence you can replace "what" by "the things that". I'd like to apologise for an unintentionally patronising tone, by the way.
– Philip Wood
50 mins ago
|
show 2 more comments
It's right as you had it: 'scare' and 'are'. 'Eyes and nose' are three things and require plural verbs. 'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms.
answered 1 hour ago
Philip WoodPhilip Wood
4676
The first part of the first example is correct, yes, but not the rest, right? Is that what you mean? Also, I'm curious about your last sentence there – "'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms" – what do you mean by that? Would it be possible to clarify?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
(a) "Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME." - "WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose." Both are right. (b) 'What' is always 'what'; it doesn't change form according to whether one object or more than one object is being referred to.
– Philip Wood
1 hour ago
Ah, right, now I see what you meant by that last sentence, and of course you're right about that – that it doesn't change its form, I mean. It's always singular. :) I disagree with the rest though – surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
"surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?" Verbs change their form according to whether the subject of the sentence or clause is singular or plural. "scares' and "is" are third person SINGULAR forms, but the subject is plural (two eyes plus one nose!).
– Philip Wood
55 mins ago
1
'what' ISN'T singular: 'what' can refer to either singular or plural.In your sentence you can replace "what" by "the things that". I'd like to apologise for an unintentionally patronising tone, by the way.
– Philip Wood
50 mins ago
|
show 2 more comments
It's right as you had it: 'scare' and 'are'. 'Eyes and nose' are three things and require plural verbs. 'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms.
answered 1 hour ago
Philip WoodPhilip Wood
4676
It's right as you had it: 'scare' and 'are'. 'Eyes and nose' are three things and require plural verbs. 'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms.
answered 1 hour ago
Philip WoodPhilip Wood
4676
answered 1 hour ago
Philip WoodPhilip Wood
4676
answered 1 hour ago
Philip WoodPhilip Wood
4676
answered 1 hour ago
Philip WoodPhilip Wood
4676
4676
The first part of the first example is correct, yes, but not the rest, right? Is that what you mean? Also, I'm curious about your last sentence there – "'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms" – what do you mean by that? Would it be possible to clarify?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
(a) "Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME." - "WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose." Both are right. (b) 'What' is always 'what'; it doesn't change form according to whether one object or more than one object is being referred to.
– Philip Wood
1 hour ago
Ah, right, now I see what you meant by that last sentence, and of course you're right about that – that it doesn't change its form, I mean. It's always singular. :) I disagree with the rest though – surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
"surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?" Verbs change their form according to whether the subject of the sentence or clause is singular or plural. "scares' and "is" are third person SINGULAR forms, but the subject is plural (two eyes plus one nose!).
– Philip Wood
55 mins ago
1
'what' ISN'T singular: 'what' can refer to either singular or plural.In your sentence you can replace "what" by "the things that". I'd like to apologise for an unintentionally patronising tone, by the way.
– Philip Wood
50 mins ago
|
show 2 more comments
The first part of the first example is correct, yes, but not the rest, right? Is that what you mean? Also, I'm curious about your last sentence there – "'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms" – what do you mean by that? Would it be possible to clarify?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
(a) "Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME." - "WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose." Both are right. (b) 'What' is always 'what'; it doesn't change form according to whether one object or more than one object is being referred to.
– Philip Wood
1 hour ago
Ah, right, now I see what you meant by that last sentence, and of course you're right about that – that it doesn't change its form, I mean. It's always singular. :) I disagree with the rest though – surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
"surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?" Verbs change their form according to whether the subject of the sentence or clause is singular or plural. "scares' and "is" are third person SINGULAR forms, but the subject is plural (two eyes plus one nose!).
– Philip Wood
55 mins ago
1
'what' ISN'T singular: 'what' can refer to either singular or plural.In your sentence you can replace "what" by "the things that". I'd like to apologise for an unintentionally patronising tone, by the way.
– Philip Wood
50 mins ago
The first part of the first example is correct, yes, but not the rest, right? Is that what you mean? Also, I'm curious about your last sentence there – "'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms" – what do you mean by that? Would it be possible to clarify?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
The first part of the first example is correct, yes, but not the rest, right? Is that what you mean? Also, I'm curious about your last sentence there – "'what' doesn't have separate singular and plural forms" – what do you mean by that? Would it be possible to clarify?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
(a) "Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME." - "WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose." Both are right. (b) 'What' is always 'what'; it doesn't change form according to whether one object or more than one object is being referred to.
– Philip Wood
1 hour ago
(a) "Her eyes and nose are WHAT SCARE ME." - "WHAT SCARE ME are her eyes and nose." Both are right. (b) 'What' is always 'what'; it doesn't change form according to whether one object or more than one object is being referred to.
– Philip Wood
1 hour ago
Ah, right, now I see what you meant by that last sentence, and of course you're right about that – that it doesn't change its form, I mean. It's always singular. :) I disagree with the rest though – surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
Ah, right, now I see what you meant by that last sentence, and of course you're right about that – that it doesn't change its form, I mean. It's always singular. :) I disagree with the rest though – surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?
– Hannah
1 hour ago
"surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?" Verbs change their form according to whether the subject of the sentence or clause is singular or plural. "scares' and "is" are third person SINGULAR forms, but the subject is plural (two eyes plus one nose!).
– Philip Wood
55 mins ago
"surely it should be Her eyes and nose are what scares me and What scares me is her eyes and nose respectively?" Verbs change their form according to whether the subject of the sentence or clause is singular or plural. "scares' and "is" are third person SINGULAR forms, but the subject is plural (two eyes plus one nose!).
– Philip Wood
55 mins ago
1
1
'what' ISN'T singular: 'what' can refer to either singular or plural.In your sentence you can replace "what" by "the things that". I'd like to apologise for an unintentionally patronising tone, by the way.
– Philip Wood
50 mins ago
'what' ISN'T singular: 'what' can refer to either singular or plural.In your sentence you can replace "what" by "the things that". I'd like to apologise for an unintentionally patronising tone, by the way.
– Philip Wood
50 mins ago
|
show 2 more comments
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f496421%2fnoun-clause-singular-all-the-time%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
