Singular vs. plural

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Gyan - 30 Jan 2004 05:06 GMT

Is the following sentence grammatically correct?

"It is basically my trucks on which my business depends."

Or should I write it as follows?

"They are basically my trucks on which my business depends."

Thanks,
Gyan

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Robert Lieblich - 30 Jan 2004 05:10 GMT

> Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> "They are basically my trucks on which my business depends."

Only "It is" is correct. There's no simple grammatical explanation
for why this is the case, but it is.

If you search Google Groups for "cleft sentences," and if you can
follow the explanations (which are not simple), you can learn much
more about this construction. But you don't have to. Just remember
that you have to use "It is" whether the actual subject (here "my
trucks") is singular or plural.

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Bob Lieblich
Veteran of the cleft sentence wars

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Gyan - 30 Jan 2004 16:14 GMT

Thank you. The reason may be that "my trucks" is a single idea and
also that the use of "it" sharpens the impact.

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Daniel Hoehr - 31 Jan 2004 10:29 GMT

> > Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
> >
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Only "It is" is correct. There's no simple grammatical explanation
> for why this is the case, but it is.

It is correct because "trucks" are viewed as a unit tied up with "my
business" in the relative clause, which, of course, is also singular.
That's why "it is" is correct.

DH

> If you search Google Groups for "cleft sentences," and if you can
> follow the explanations (which are not simple), you can learn much
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Bob Lieblich
> Veteran of the cleft sentence wars

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John Flynn - 31 Jan 2004 10:31 GMT

>>> Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> business" in the relative clause, which, of course, is also singular.
> That's why "it is" is correct.

Does that also explain _It is basically my trucks on which my two business
depend_?

Signature

johnF
"Grammars and dictionaries are artificial environments for languages. They
reflect only a fraction of the diversity of a language in its everyday use [...] ."
-- _Vanishing Voices_, Daniel Nettle & Suzanne Romaine

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John Flynn - 31 Jan 2004 10:33 GMT

I wrote incorrectly:

>>>> Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> Does that also explain _It is basically my trucks on which my two
> business depend_?

That should have been, obviously, _It is basically my trucks on which my
two businesses depend_.

[I'm starting to agree with Mark Wallace's proposal last year about
abolishing plural and singular in English. It makes sense!]

Signature

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Robert Lieblich - 31 Jan 2004 14:09 GMT

> > > Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
> > >
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> business" in the relative clause, which, of course, is also singular.
> That's why "it is" is correct.

Well, that's one way to look at it -- but I don't agree. This use of
a singular dummy subject is a consequence of idiom, not any sort of
semantics. This is easy to prove, because reordering the sentence
reveals the plural nature of what follows "It is": "My trucks *are*
what my business depends on." The trucks are no more or less a unit
in this syntax than they are in the cleft ("It is") version, but you
don't hear many people saying "My trucks *is* what my business
depends on." (I'd wager that you'd have a chance at getting "is" in
that version only if you told your interlocutor in advance that you
wanted to know which verb form to use.)

A different reordering produces this: "My business depends on my
trucks." But here "my trucks" is the object and you don't have to
make a choice of number. And, as John Flynn implies, pluralizing
"business" pluralize the verb: "My businesses *depend* on my
trucks." So there's no "unit" there.

And what do you do with "What my business depends on is/are my
trucks"? Do you use a singular verb to go with "what" or a plural
verb to go with "my trucks." Is "what" the subject, by virtue of
its actual placement, or "my trucks" by virtue of its being the
natural subject if the sentence isn't inverted? The answer to that
one is that you have your choice. Either will sound right to some
people and wrong to others.

But idiom is in control here, not meaning.

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Bob Lieblich
Idiom savant

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Martin Ambuhl - 30 Jan 2004 05:42 GMT

> Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
> "It is basically my trucks on which my business depends."

That's OK.

> Or should I write it as follows?
> "They are basically my trucks on which my business depends."

That's not.
Better: "My business depends on my trucks."

Cleft sentences generally are it the form
It [BE] <focused part> <relative pronoun / relative determiner /
relative adverb> <rest of sentence>. The normal cleft forms of
"My business depends on my trucks"
are
(1) "It is my business that depends on my trucks."
and
(2) "It is my trucks that my business depends on."
The choice between "which" and "that" in the sentences above I will leave
to others to fight over. I have treated the remainder of the sentences as
defining; others may differ. I think the fear of ending a sentence with a
preposition leads to the "on which" construction that you use, and that
construction obfuscates the cleft nature of the sentence.

Signature

Martin Ambuhl

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Gyan - 30 Jan 2004 16:16 GMT

Thank you, Martin. I feel humbled by your knowledge as well as the
expanse of grammar.

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david56 - 30 Jan 2004 15:23 GMT

Gyan spake thus:

> Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> "They are basically my trucks on which my business depends."

"basically" is one of those words which can nearly always be removed
without change in meaning. I would say:

My business depends on my trucks.

But that may not be what you were asking about.

Signature

David
=====

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Gyan - 31 Jan 2004 05:56 GMT

Sorry, that sentence is just a part of a larger picture:

"My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, it is
basically my truck on which my business depends."

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david56 - 31 Jan 2004 09:47 GMT

Gyan spake thus:

> Sorry, that sentence is just a part of a larger picture:
>
> "My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, it is
> basically my truck on which my business depends."

I still don't like "basically" because it is so often a meaningless
filler word. You could leave it out:

My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, it is
my trucks on which my business depends.

or switch it round to make a simpler sentence:

My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, my
business depends on my trucks.

If you want to reinforce the point, you could use a different
intensifier:

My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, it is
in fact my trucks on which my business depends

or

My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, in
reality it is my trucks on which my business depends

Signature

David
=====

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Odysseus - 31 Jan 2004 13:56 GMT

> Sorry, that sentence is just a part of a larger picture:
>
> "My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, it is
> basically my truck on which my business depends."

I think "basically" is still rather weak; perhaps "ultimately" would
be better.

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Odysseus

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Gyan - 31 Jan 2004 05:58 GMT

Sorry, that sentence is just a part of a larger picture:

"My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, it is
basically my trucks on which my business depends."

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Peter Duncanson - 31 Jan 2004 13:46 GMT

>Sorry, that sentence is just a part of a larger picture:
>
>"My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, it is
>basically my trucks on which my business depends."

How about:
"My business depends on xyz, but since xyz depends on my trucks, it is
ultimately my trucks on which my business depends."

Signature

Peter Duncanson
UK
(posting from a.e.u)

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Adrian Bailey - 30 Jan 2004 23:41 GMT

> Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
>
> "It is basically my trucks on which my business depends."

Although there is some excuse for using the verbal tic "basically" in
speech, it should be avoided in writing.

"My business depends on my trucks."

Adrian

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004

Singular vs. plural