"All I need (is/are) cigarettes and alcohol": which one is correct?

Question

In one of Oasis's songs — Cigarettes and Alcohol — there are two sentences that make me confused:

All I found was cigarettes and alcohol

...and...

All I need is cigarettes and alcohol

Why would is and was be correct in these sentences instead of are and were, since they're referring to more than one thing?

This question identifies how to treat this query. It depends on whether you are grouping "all I need" into a single bundle, or enumerating the items. — Andrew Leach, Apr 30 '14 at 14:39
It'd be clearer if you re-stated what it is you want to know in the body of your question. — 568ml, Apr 30 '14 at 15:07
“All they need is some words” or “all they need are some words” — RegDwigнt, Apr 30 '14 at 15:09
@AndrewLeach The question you linked is about number-transparent and collective nouns, neither of which are relevant to the present question, which arguably has more to do with pseudo-clefts (see here). Yes, in both cases one has an option of whether to use singular or plural. But notice, for instance, that with collective nouns, the plural override is disfavored in American English, whereas, as best as I can tell, the choice of singular vs plural in pseudo-clefts and related constructions shows no contrast between AmE and BrE. — linguisticturn, Jan 17 '19 at 22:04
For these reasons, I disagree that the present question already has an answer in the link at the top (which is the same as Andrew Leach's link). Having said that, the present question is indeed a duplicate of “all they need is some words” or “all they need are some words”. There are still other duplicates that were posted later, e.g. Correct usage for “all you need is/are…”. — linguisticturn, Jan 17 '19 at 22:04

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 30 '14 at 15:23

I have difficulty to find an explanation but "all" in "All I need" is felt as a singular so the verb form is "is" even when a plural follows.

I checked Google Ngram Viewer for "all I need is": a lot of examples. But none for "all I need are".

One might say the system here is as with "it". After "it" follows the singular verb form even if a plural noun follows. It + are is not possible.

It's my children, said Mother Goat when she saw something moving in the stomach of the sleeping Wulf.

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 30 '14 at 18:24

The habit of "All I need is..." conflicts with more basic rules. But the basic rule for 'and' wins, if you are writing.

Unless the two things joined by 'and' constitute an inseparable group, or refer to a single composite, like "Macaroni and Cheese", the result of combining them is plural.

For some people (including, presumably the song's author) 'cigarettes and alcohol' is a composite, representing their comforting vices, but for most of us it describes two separate things.

"All I need are a map and a compass" works in any context, though some folks will find it stilted. Whereas "All I need is a map and a compass" works only with some people and at some times.

It's not this simple though. You need to go a further step to answer the question. You've said "map and compass" is plural, but that phrase is not the subject of the sentence. The subject of the sentence is "All I need"; you need to show that this phrase is plural to justify the use of "All I need are...". — herisson, Aug 06 '17 at 20:34

"All I need (is/are) cigarettes and alcohol": which one is correct?

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