Where can I find informative material detailing how to properly use (s) and syntax for accounting for one or many nouns in a sentence?
Example:
If there was freezing weather, the heated enclosure(s) for the dry, preaction, and/or deluge valve(s) were/was checked to make sure it/they was/were adequately heated.
If it is one enclosure and one valve, then this makes sense: If there was freezing weather, the heated enclosure for the dry, preaction, and/or deluge valve was checked to make sure it was adequately heated.
If it is more than one valve and more than one enclosure, then this makes sense: If there was freezing weather, the heated enclosures for the dry, preaction, and/or deluge valves were checked to make sure they were adequately heated.
If it is more than one valve, and only one enclosure, then this makes sense: If there was freezing weather, the heated enclosure for the dry, preaction, and/or deluge valves were checked to make sure they were adequately heated.
I'm looking for a robust way to handle all scenarios in one sentence.
