• Brave Little Hitachi Wand@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    The one thing I will insist on is the use of is/are. It’s pretty simple, if referring to a countable set, use “are”. E.g. there are four turtles in my sewer. You would not say “there are too much shit on this webpage”, because that shit is uncountable.

    • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
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      10 days ago

      Some things work differently between dialects of English. For example “the band is” (it is) vs “the band are” (they are).

      • Brave Little Hitachi Wand@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        There are vague cases. A band could be a singular entity or a group of countable members, and whichever you use would come with a shading of connotation about that. “The band are all upset about this deal… The band isn’t taking its roadies for granted.”

    • chunes@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      How do you feel when there’s a contraction? Would you be okay with There’s four turtles in my sewer or would you insist on There’re four turtles in my sewer?

      • Brave Little Hitachi Wand@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        I only insist on this point of grammar for myself and to my kid, who is still young enough to need instruction on grammar.

        As a matter of style, I don’t prefer there’re in written form, but it’s fine spoken. But yes, I do stand on the point even with contractions.