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I'm writing a research paper with several classmates for school. However, there's a sentence that we, as well as others who have reviewed our paper, disagree with on how to write. Which sentence is more proper, grammatically?

Yet, alcohol usage and abuse still continue.

Yet, alcohol usage and abuse still continues.

I realize that this is probably a trivial question, but I would appreciate any help nonetheless.

Community
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gengkev
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  • Since the subject is plural, so should the verb be...... I vote for the first sentence. – Gary's Student May 01 '14 at 01:13
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    It depends on whether you consider the use and abuse of alcohol as a single entity, a unitary subject; or whether you think of them as two separate subjects. Rephrasing a little to add clarity: “Alcohol and abuse is the biggest obstacle in their relationship” vs. “Alcohol and abuse are major social issues often faced in the area”. – Janus Bahs Jacquet May 01 '14 at 01:22
  • That's an interesting distinction, I haven't thought about it that way. – gengkev May 01 '14 at 01:30
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    @JanusBahsJacquet Your comment would work as a (short) answer. –  May 01 '14 at 01:31
  • @JanusBahsJacquet - I'm having a hard time thinking of united subjects being singular. I have no problem with the gerunds drinking and driving being singular, alcohol and abuse sounds like a plural subject to me, unless bundled as the problem of alcohol and abuse is... or unclean water resulting in gastrointestinal illnesses is... – anongoodnurse May 01 '14 at 02:02
  • Related: Heidi Lorimor's thesis, Conjunctions and Grammatical Agreement. See the section titled Distributive and Collective Interpretations, for example. –  May 01 '14 at 02:49
  • @medica, I agree that alcohol and abuse isn’t the best example for a singular united subject. A better example (from snailboat’s link) is, “Cream and sugar is needed to hide the bitter flavour” or “A cup and saucer is not much more than a simple bowl and a shallow plate”. Those both sound quite awkward to me if used with a plural verb. – Janus Bahs Jacquet May 01 '14 at 08:52
  • @JanusBahsJacquet Maybe it's regional, but those singulars sound awkward to me. – Barmar May 01 '14 at 15:56
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    @JanusBahsJacquet Try more natural pairings. Winning and losing isn’t all there is to the game. —— Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich. —— My lord and husband is coming home for dinner tonight. —— Time and tide waits for no man. All perfectly normal. (Well, provided you consider time and tide the same thing, as they were in the original before being reänalysed into confusion.) – tchrist May 14 '14 at 20:59

2 Answers2

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My impression is that alcohol use and alcohol abuse are overlapping but hardly coextensive entities. Consequently I would revise your sentence to say something along the lines of

Yet alcohol use and abuse remain extremely common.

In making this recommendation, I don't deny that cases may arise in which a singular verb works better than a plural verb with a subject that looks plural but is understood as a unitary thing. For example,

Cutting and pasting in Word is a simple procedure.

sounds far better to me than either

Cutting and pasting in Word are a simple procedure.

or

Cutting and pasting in Word are simple procedures.

because I understand cutting and pasting to be two parts of a single procedure in Word, not two separate procedures that often occur in tandem.

Sven Yargs
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The first one is obviously correct. The verb should be plural because the subject is plural. Not only does the second one sound extremely awkward, it also implies that only the abuse continues whilst the usage of alcohol isn't explained. It seems to me that you have spent too much time contemplating this trivial question. Don't get too caught up.

RainbowT
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  • I see what you mean. We'll probably just reword the sentence instead, but thanks anyway! – gengkev May 01 '14 at 01:31
  • Health and safety are our primary concern? Cutting and pasting in Word are simple procedures? Fish and chips are my favourite meal? – Edwin Ashworth Jul 18 '20 at 16:36