Examples: "Two miles is too far to walk" vs "There are two miles" In the first situation, the noun is seen as singular, while the noun is seen as plural in the second situation. What is the reason that allows this noun to be both plural and singular.
Asked
Active
Viewed 40 times
1
-
1I can't imagine saying "There are two miles." Where did you read that? – tchrist Jul 19 '23 at 01:09
-
@livresque No no no, that's the wrong duplicate. It's about measure phrases counting as singulars: "Five cups of sugar is all you'll need for this recipe." – tchrist Jul 19 '23 at 01:10
-
@tchrist Bingo, thank you. I'm all thumbs. A couple of thumbs is all you need. Two thumbs is enough. – livresque Jul 19 '23 at 01:13