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You are going to be the death of me.

The above is a correct usage. Is it also correct if there's a phrase between you and are?

You wearing black dresses are going to be the death of me?

Or is the correct form in the modified sentence is:

You wearing black dresses is going to be the death of me?

Hank
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NamanyayG
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    What makes you think the subject-verb agreement of you are would change because you insert that phrase in between the two words? – Arm the good guys in America Feb 17 '17 at 15:16
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    @Clare it simply doesn't 'feel' right, but it does make sense that it wouldn't change. – NamanyayG Feb 17 '17 at 15:17
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    It should be singular "is". "You wearing black dresses" is a non-finite clause and non-finite clauses as subject take singular verb agreement. – BillJ Feb 17 '17 at 15:31
  • @BillJ thanks! Is there someplace I can read up on these concepts, I'm not entirely familiar with them (non-native speaker). – NamanyayG Feb 17 '17 at 15:41
  • My comment applied to the original question, which asked about You, wearing black dresses, are going to be the death of me. Subsequently the question has been edited to ask about You wearing black dresses are going to be the death of me but in this case the answer is the same: the verb is are. – Arm the good guys in America Feb 17 '17 at 15:46
  • This question spun out of a similar argument my friend and I had. What would be a way to find the correct convention here? – NamanyayG Feb 17 '17 at 16:32
  • From a grammatical point of view the subject could be an NP or a gerund-participial clause, hence either verb-form would be possible. Consider "Women driving cars in Saudi Arabia really is a strange sight (clause subject) vs "Women driving cars in Saudi Arabia really are a strange sight" (noun phrase subject). I took your example as belonging to the former category (clausal) but the noun phrase analysis is also possible. – BillJ Feb 17 '17 at 16:34
  • It depends on what you want to say: You [people who are] wearing black dresses are* going to be the death of me.* But [The fact that] you [are] wearing black dresses is* going to be the death of me.* In either case you should probably rephrase to make your meaning clearer. – 1006a Feb 17 '17 at 23:03

1 Answers1

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Your wearing black dresses is going to be the death of me.

This needs to be singular. "Your wearing black dresses" may be thought of as "your custom."

aparente001
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    Lest there be any doubt, whether one uses a possessive in your wearing or an (invisible) oblique in you wearing, using a nonfinite verb phrase — be it an infinitive or an -ing verb — as a subject always commands singular concord with the actual verb. And not just in English alone, either. :) – tchrist Feb 19 '17 at 04:56
  • @tchrist - Please feel free to edit and improve my answer -- if you think it is possible; if not, I won't mind if you write your own.... – aparente001 Feb 19 '17 at 05:54