How do you list items that are both singular and plural

Asked Sep 14 '20 at 19:33

Active Sep 14 '20 at 19:33

Viewed 32 times

For example, would you say:

"There were carrots and gravy in the fridge."

You wouldn't say, "There were gravy." So does this make sense?

Another example:

"There are radio parts and a radio in the car."

You wouldn't say, "There are a radio in the car." So, again, how does this make sense?

Any ideas on how to fix this?

Thanks.

asked Sep 14 '20 at 19:33

Youngsqu1r322

General rule is that the verb agrees with the closest noun. – Hot Licks Sep 14 '20 at 19:36
1

There are eggs and an apple on the table, there is an apple and some eggs on the table. – Michael Harvey Sep 14 '20 at 20:10
There were butter and mayonnaise in the fridge. (Non-count nouns, but two of them.) – Brian Donovan Sep 14 '20 at 20:17
@BrianDonovan There was confusion and despair in the counting. – livresque Sep 14 '20 at 21:03
@livresque - Are there confusion and despair? – Hot Licks Sep 14 '20 at 22:04
Here, [there is](https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22is+beer+and+sandwiches%22) just beer and sandwiches, but over [there are* beer and sandwiches.*](https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22there+are+beer+and+sandwiches%22) – FumbleFingers Sep 15 '20 at 12:06

0 Answers0