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Basic education consists of more than 1 Grade. Therefore a group of grades forms basic education.

"Grades 1 to 6 are basic education" Which is true because we are not implying any one grade forms all the basic education for kids. (Any and all of the grades teach basic education).

However if we group the Grades does this not now change? If we use "Grades 1 to 6" or "Grade 1 to 6" to denote a part in the educational system. Then they would actually become the name of the group were are describing?

If we renamed the group to First Stage then we would write "The first Stage is basic education".

So, which of the following would be correct? I would suggest all three. The first two are groups and we make a statement about Basic education (it takes place in Grade 1 to 6), but the last is a reference to what the individual grades do.

  1. Grades 1 to 6 "is basic education for kids"
  2. Grade 1 to 6 "is basic education for kids"
  3. Grades 1 to 6 "are basic education for kids"

To me the use of "is" sounds natural as well as correct, however this maybe some colloquial influence. I have failed to find any reference to the Noun Idiomatically applying to more than one thing remain in the singular for anything unless it relates to a person

Theodore Bernstein, in "Dos, Don'ts and Maybes of English Usage", says that

Idiomatically the noun applying to more than one person remains in the singular when (a) it represents a quality or thing possessed in common ("The audience's curiosity was aroused"); or (b) it is an abstraction ("The judges applied their reason to the problem"), or (c) it is a figurative word ("All ten children had a sweet tooth") (203).

Ref: Guide to Grammar and Writing

Brad
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  • When you group many things together, either physically, logically or metaphorically and then name the group the group becomes a single item but the components remain plural. For instance the vertebrae (plural) form the spine (singular) of an animal or human. Because of this we can say of someone who has had a serious accident "he has several crushed vertebrae" and "his spine is damaged" and be right on both counts. However we would say that the vertebrae C1 to C8 are the cernot C1 to C8 is the – BoldBen Mar 14 '21 at 06:52
  • thank you for the comment however I do not understand the relationship between my grouping of grades, which are each apart of the group of grades that forms basic education and your list of vertebrae that are broken. Because there does not seem to be an mention of any group that they could belong to. I would, in this case, whole heartedly agree with you that "are" should be used. – Brad Mar 14 '21 at 07:10
  • It was just a comparison of the way that the vertebrae make up the spine and Grades 1 to 6 make up Basic Education. Obviously there is no physical element to the collection of grades but linguistically the two concepts are analagous. – BoldBen Mar 14 '21 at 22:56
  • None of the above sound too natural to my ear. I'd switch to 'Grades 1 to 6 provide basic education for kids' or invert to 'Basic education for kids in the US consists of school year levels known as Grades 1 to 6'. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 09 '21 at 17:28
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    Does this answer your question? "They're using a cell phone" vs. "They're using cell phones" (See Rappaport's article.) – Edwin Ashworth Jan 08 '22 at 14:17

2 Answers2

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When you group many things together, either physically, logically or metaphorically and then name the group the group becomes a single item but the components remain plural.

For instance the vertebrae (plural) form the spine (singular) of an animal or human. Because of this we can say of someone who has had a serious accident "he has several crushed vertebrae" and "his spine is damaged" and be right on both counts.

However we would say "the vertebrae C1 to C8 are the neck area" not "C1 to C8 is the neck area". We would say "The top eight vertebrae, C1 to C8, form the cervical region which is the neck area" though because "the cervical region" is singular.

In my opinion in your example Grades 1 to 6 are individual units (if a child was gifted they might skip Grades 3 and 4 for example) but they would still be in "Basic Education". Because of this I would say that "Grades 1 to 6 are basic education." (That is analagous to saying "vertebrae C1 to C8 are the neck region"). I don't see that you can treat disparate items as a single one just because they are grouped. You have to use the group name, not the list of items in that group before you can use the singular.

BoldBen
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  • "However if we group the Grades does this not now change? If we use "Grades 1 to 6" or "Grade 1 to 6" to denote a part in the educational system. Then they would actually become the name of the group were are describing" What I am saying here is If we have created a group then it is a name and the name can have Grade as a singular or a plural depending on the whim of who named it. The name of the group could be "Grades 1 to 6" or "Grade 1 to 6" or " First Stage" or Fred or what ever we want to name it. – Brad Mar 15 '21 at 02:06
  • @Brad If you name your group with a singular name like First Stage of Fred then that is perfectly true. However if you give it an name which is, in itself, plural then it becomes odder. Just by saying to yourself that "Grades to 6" is the name of the group isn't enough because no one else knows that it is a name. If you said "The stage 'Groups 1 to 6' is Basic Education" that would work but, without stating that 'Groups 1 to 6' is the name of the stage you can't use it as one. – BoldBen Mar 16 '21 at 12:24
  • thank you for staying with me in this debate. At last I feel as if I am making some progress. The next step in my thought process is that what we often say in situations like this is incorrect. My thoughts are that we should be saying "Grades, from 1 to 6 "are basic education for kids" Yes if we are making a simple statement we do not use from "Grades 1 to 6, finish at 3pm". However were we are discussing something that is, for the want of a better word a "unit" consisting of different levels then we should denote the "range. "From grades 9 to 12, students study in high school" – Brad Mar 16 '21 at 23:02
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Consider which pronoun that you would use instead of the noun phrase "Grade(s) 1 to 6":

Grades 1 to 6 "is basic education for kids"

Grade 1 to 6 "is basic education for kids"

Grades 1 to 6 "are basic education for kids"

In the case of "Grades", you would use They and the verb must be "are". In the case of "Grade", you would use It and the verb must be "is".

"1 to 6" is in apposition or acts adjectivally and does not affect the state of the noun.

Greybeard
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