Number concord with subject complements
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In informal spoken language, speakers sometimes have a choice whether to use a singular or
plural verb when there is a difference in number between the subject and the complement:
singular subject
plural complement
Another topic of course
is
words that have changed their meaning
.
[talking of a car that is proving difficult to sell]
The only good thing
are
the tyres
.
Normally, and in more formal styles, the subject determines the number of the verb .
Apposition
Adjective and noun phrases separated from the rest of the clause by punctuation
or intonation may function in a way very similar to a subject complement:
The crowd pressed closer, unwilling to miss a thing.
We’d just sit there, a couple trying to make it in the world.
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