#331843 - 07/04/2010 08:03
Grammar question
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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So SWMBO and I are tying the knot at the end of the year and we're currently looking at wedding invitations. We've settled on a design, but are currently having difficulties agreeing on the grammar of sentence on the front of the card.
Currently it reads:
'Look who's finally getting married'
SWMBO thinks it should be:
'Look who are finally getting married'
I think the original sentence is okay, SWMBO's version is probably correct too but just doesn't scan correctly. What do you guys think?
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Cheers,
Andy M
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#331844 - 07/04/2010 10:50
Re: Grammar question
[Re: andym]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 13/01/2002
Posts: 1649
Loc: Louisiana, USA
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You are one couple aren't you? In my book that would make who a singular pronoun and should be followed with a singular verb. Who's or more formally, who is is the correct approach.
Stu
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#331845 - 07/04/2010 11:07
Re: Grammar question
[Re: maczrool]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Well.. which is more correct? Andy and SWMBO is getting married, (suitable for first cousins)  or Andy and SWMBO are getting married. How about about this version: We is going to the pub, (okay in Yorkshire or Texas, perhaps), We are going to the pub.
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#331846 - 07/04/2010 11:34
Re: Grammar question
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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There's actually no really firm answer here. http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/38/2/138When in doubt, I think you should go with what sounds more natural to most readers, which would be "Look who's finally getting married." It's true that we know from context a plural number of people are getting married, so if you were to turn it around like Mark does, you'd definitely use "are." But, given that there are a lot of experts who think that "who" as an interrogative pronoun is always singular, you have some latitude here, and should go with the one that's less awkward sounding.
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#331848 - 07/04/2010 11:51
Re: Grammar question
[Re: andym]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
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I don't give a flip about the grammar-
Congratulations!!
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10101466 (2x60GB, Eutronix/GreenLights Blue) (Stolen!)
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#331850 - 07/04/2010 13:32
Re: Grammar question
[Re: tonyc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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I agree with Tony. I'll add that if it were formal you might want to go with "are", but the construct of that sentence is at least somewhat idiomatic and, I think, inherently informal, so I think using "are" sounds particularly awkward in this case.
More importantly, though, congratulations!
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Bitt Faulk
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#331857 - 07/04/2010 15:44
Re: Grammar question
[Re: wfaulk]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Congratulations Andy - sorry, no useful grammar input from here...
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#331870 - 08/04/2010 00:00
Re: Grammar question
[Re: frog51]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
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What part of SWMBO do you not understand? 
Edited by gbeer (08/04/2010 00:01)
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Glenn
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#331875 - 08/04/2010 01:28
Re: Grammar question
[Re: gbeer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12345
Loc: Sterling, VA
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I also offer congratulations. In matters like these, I turn to my mother, a research editor at National Geographic Magazine (sorry, I know I've dropped that before): I think the general rule is that there's no firm rule! This is from The Economist's style guide:* There is no firm rule about the number of a verb governed by a singular collective noun. It is best to go by the sense—that is, whether the collective noun stands for a single entity (The council was elected in March, The me generation has run its course, The staff is loyal) or for its constituents: (The council are at sixes and sevens, The preceding generation are all dead, The staff are at each other's throats). Do not, in any event, slavishly give all singular collective nouns singular verbs: The couple have a baby boy is preferable to The couple has a baby boy. Indeed, in general, treat both a pair and a couple as plural. That said, I think "Look who's finally getting married" sounds better to the ear. *The Economist is British, but this still makes sense to me.
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Matt
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#331944 - 09/04/2010 07:05
Re: Grammar question
[Re: Dignan]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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Congratulations from this side of the Pennines (Where truck drivers are ramming Renaults, outside my window, as I speak).
Having been a copywriter, I was about to go down the collective noun/"who's" sounds better route, but Dignan's mother does it much more eloquently.
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#331946 - 09/04/2010 11:01
Re: Grammar question
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12345
Loc: Sterling, VA
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One more update from mom the research editor: By the way, I checked the National Geographic Style Manual this morning:
COLLECTIVES AS SINGULAR OR PLURAL
"Collectives (family, team, couple, etc.) tend to be plural when the component members are considered separately and singular when the group is handled as a unit: a score were present; an army marches on its stomach. The plural often prevails when humans are concerned: The couple are..." But then it goes on to say: "The decision between singular and plural is frequently writer's choice."
In this case (a wedding), I'd tend to view the couple as a unit!
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Matt
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