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Two oatmeal pies a day keep the doctor away?
Apostrophes and caps in Happy Mother’s Day / Happy Mothers’ DayPlural of “a stone's throw away”?“Years of experience that keeps us safe.” vs “Years of experience that keep us safe.”Plural of 'Word of the day'?Should I use “both” or “each”?“Not only my husband but also my son is a doctor”“0.4 miles away” or “0.4 mile away”Two-element vs two-elements“Who” in a SentenceWhy is the poker hand called “two pair” and not “two pairs”
Is it "two oatmeal pies a day keep the doctor away" or "two oatmeal pies a day keeps the doctor away"?
grammatical-number
asked 3 hours ago
user337454user337454
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Is it "two oatmeal pies a day keep the doctor away" or "two oatmeal pies a day keeps the doctor away"?
grammatical-number
asked 3 hours ago
user337454user337454
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Well, "pies" is the subject so it should take a plural predicate: keep. However, I have never heard that advice about oatmeal pies. I've always been told, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." In fact, I don't think I've ever eaten an oatmeal pie.
– Zan700
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Is it "two oatmeal pies a day keep the doctor away" or "two oatmeal pies a day keeps the doctor away"?
grammatical-number
asked 3 hours ago
user337454user337454
61
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user337454 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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Is it "two oatmeal pies a day keep the doctor away" or "two oatmeal pies a day keeps the doctor away"?
grammatical-number
grammatical-number
asked 3 hours ago
user337454user337454
61
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user337454 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 3 hours ago
user337454user337454
61
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Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 3 hours ago
user337454user337454
61
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user337454 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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asked 3 hours ago
user337454user337454
61
asked 3 hours ago
user337454user337454
61
61
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user337454 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
user337454 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
user337454 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Well, "pies" is the subject so it should take a plural predicate: keep. However, I have never heard that advice about oatmeal pies. I've always been told, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." In fact, I don't think I've ever eaten an oatmeal pie.
– Zan700
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Well, "pies" is the subject so it should take a plural predicate: keep. However, I have never heard that advice about oatmeal pies. I've always been told, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." In fact, I don't think I've ever eaten an oatmeal pie.
– Zan700
3 hours ago
Well, "pies" is the subject so it should take a plural predicate: keep. However, I have never heard that advice about oatmeal pies. I've always been told, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." In fact, I don't think I've ever eaten an oatmeal pie.
– Zan700
3 hours ago
Well, "pies" is the subject so it should take a plural predicate: keep. However, I have never heard that advice about oatmeal pies. I've always been told, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." In fact, I don't think I've ever eaten an oatmeal pie.
– Zan700
3 hours ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
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If we're describing what native speakers say, we'd have to say that both versions are acceptable.
It's possible to understand "two oatmeal pies a day" as a singular "prescription for health" and then use the singular verb. Sometimes semantics trumps the grammatical number of the noun.
answered 3 hours ago
TRomanoTRomano
16.3k21946
add a comment |
Either one could be correct.
This question highlights an interesting feature of English called notional agreement. Here's an excerpt from Merriam Webster:
Most English speakers know the basic rule of subject-verb agreement: a singular noun takes a singular verb, and a plural noun takes its corresponding plural...But there are times when the determination for what counts as "agreement" is not as obvious, because what sounds like a singular noun is really plural, or what sounds like a plural noun is essentially singular. This concept is known as notional agreement, otherwise known as notional concord or synesis.
Simply put, notional agreement occurs when the agreement between a subject and its verb (or, in some instances, a pronoun and its antecedent) is determined by meaning rather than form.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/notional-agreement-subject-verb-principle-proximity
A clear example of notional agreement is "peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich." Peanut butter and jelly looks at first like a plural subject, but the intended meaning of the sentence is something like: [the combination of] peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich.
Other examples cited in that article include, "two plus three makes five" => [the sum] two plus three makes five, "ten dollars is the cost of admission" => [a value of] ten dollars is the cost of admission.
So what about your "two pies"?
To answer the question, we'd need to know whether it was the two pies separately, each one working on its own, that kept the doctor away, or whether the pair of pies, as a unit, kept the doctor away. We can't definitely decide which of those is the case, since this is metaphorical language. I happen to read this statement as [Eating] two pies a day keeps the doctor away, and thus, I'd use the singular form, keeps.
answered 3 hours ago
JuhaszJuhasz
1,54417
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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2 Answers
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active
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If we're describing what native speakers say, we'd have to say that both versions are acceptable.
It's possible to understand "two oatmeal pies a day" as a singular "prescription for health" and then use the singular verb. Sometimes semantics trumps the grammatical number of the noun.
answered 3 hours ago
TRomanoTRomano
16.3k21946
add a comment |
If we're describing what native speakers say, we'd have to say that both versions are acceptable.
It's possible to understand "two oatmeal pies a day" as a singular "prescription for health" and then use the singular verb. Sometimes semantics trumps the grammatical number of the noun.
answered 3 hours ago
TRomanoTRomano
16.3k21946
add a comment |
If we're describing what native speakers say, we'd have to say that both versions are acceptable.
It's possible to understand "two oatmeal pies a day" as a singular "prescription for health" and then use the singular verb. Sometimes semantics trumps the grammatical number of the noun.
answered 3 hours ago
TRomanoTRomano
16.3k21946
If we're describing what native speakers say, we'd have to say that both versions are acceptable.
It's possible to understand "two oatmeal pies a day" as a singular "prescription for health" and then use the singular verb. Sometimes semantics trumps the grammatical number of the noun.
answered 3 hours ago
TRomanoTRomano
16.3k21946
answered 3 hours ago
TRomanoTRomano
16.3k21946
answered 3 hours ago
TRomanoTRomano
16.3k21946
answered 3 hours ago
TRomanoTRomano
16.3k21946
16.3k21946
add a comment |
add a comment |
Either one could be correct.
This question highlights an interesting feature of English called notional agreement. Here's an excerpt from Merriam Webster:
Most English speakers know the basic rule of subject-verb agreement: a singular noun takes a singular verb, and a plural noun takes its corresponding plural...But there are times when the determination for what counts as "agreement" is not as obvious, because what sounds like a singular noun is really plural, or what sounds like a plural noun is essentially singular. This concept is known as notional agreement, otherwise known as notional concord or synesis.
Simply put, notional agreement occurs when the agreement between a subject and its verb (or, in some instances, a pronoun and its antecedent) is determined by meaning rather than form.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/notional-agreement-subject-verb-principle-proximity
A clear example of notional agreement is "peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich." Peanut butter and jelly looks at first like a plural subject, but the intended meaning of the sentence is something like: [the combination of] peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich.
Other examples cited in that article include, "two plus three makes five" => [the sum] two plus three makes five, "ten dollars is the cost of admission" => [a value of] ten dollars is the cost of admission.
So what about your "two pies"?
To answer the question, we'd need to know whether it was the two pies separately, each one working on its own, that kept the doctor away, or whether the pair of pies, as a unit, kept the doctor away. We can't definitely decide which of those is the case, since this is metaphorical language. I happen to read this statement as [Eating] two pies a day keeps the doctor away, and thus, I'd use the singular form, keeps.
answered 3 hours ago
JuhaszJuhasz
1,54417
add a comment |
Either one could be correct.
This question highlights an interesting feature of English called notional agreement. Here's an excerpt from Merriam Webster:
Most English speakers know the basic rule of subject-verb agreement: a singular noun takes a singular verb, and a plural noun takes its corresponding plural...But there are times when the determination for what counts as "agreement" is not as obvious, because what sounds like a singular noun is really plural, or what sounds like a plural noun is essentially singular. This concept is known as notional agreement, otherwise known as notional concord or synesis.
Simply put, notional agreement occurs when the agreement between a subject and its verb (or, in some instances, a pronoun and its antecedent) is determined by meaning rather than form.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/notional-agreement-subject-verb-principle-proximity
A clear example of notional agreement is "peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich." Peanut butter and jelly looks at first like a plural subject, but the intended meaning of the sentence is something like: [the combination of] peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich.
Other examples cited in that article include, "two plus three makes five" => [the sum] two plus three makes five, "ten dollars is the cost of admission" => [a value of] ten dollars is the cost of admission.
So what about your "two pies"?
To answer the question, we'd need to know whether it was the two pies separately, each one working on its own, that kept the doctor away, or whether the pair of pies, as a unit, kept the doctor away. We can't definitely decide which of those is the case, since this is metaphorical language. I happen to read this statement as [Eating] two pies a day keeps the doctor away, and thus, I'd use the singular form, keeps.
answered 3 hours ago
JuhaszJuhasz
1,54417
add a comment |
Either one could be correct.
This question highlights an interesting feature of English called notional agreement. Here's an excerpt from Merriam Webster:
Most English speakers know the basic rule of subject-verb agreement: a singular noun takes a singular verb, and a plural noun takes its corresponding plural...But there are times when the determination for what counts as "agreement" is not as obvious, because what sounds like a singular noun is really plural, or what sounds like a plural noun is essentially singular. This concept is known as notional agreement, otherwise known as notional concord or synesis.
Simply put, notional agreement occurs when the agreement between a subject and its verb (or, in some instances, a pronoun and its antecedent) is determined by meaning rather than form.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/notional-agreement-subject-verb-principle-proximity
A clear example of notional agreement is "peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich." Peanut butter and jelly looks at first like a plural subject, but the intended meaning of the sentence is something like: [the combination of] peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich.
Other examples cited in that article include, "two plus three makes five" => [the sum] two plus three makes five, "ten dollars is the cost of admission" => [a value of] ten dollars is the cost of admission.
So what about your "two pies"?
To answer the question, we'd need to know whether it was the two pies separately, each one working on its own, that kept the doctor away, or whether the pair of pies, as a unit, kept the doctor away. We can't definitely decide which of those is the case, since this is metaphorical language. I happen to read this statement as [Eating] two pies a day keeps the doctor away, and thus, I'd use the singular form, keeps.
answered 3 hours ago
JuhaszJuhasz
1,54417
Either one could be correct.
This question highlights an interesting feature of English called notional agreement. Here's an excerpt from Merriam Webster:
Most English speakers know the basic rule of subject-verb agreement: a singular noun takes a singular verb, and a plural noun takes its corresponding plural...But there are times when the determination for what counts as "agreement" is not as obvious, because what sounds like a singular noun is really plural, or what sounds like a plural noun is essentially singular. This concept is known as notional agreement, otherwise known as notional concord or synesis.
Simply put, notional agreement occurs when the agreement between a subject and its verb (or, in some instances, a pronoun and its antecedent) is determined by meaning rather than form.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/notional-agreement-subject-verb-principle-proximity
A clear example of notional agreement is "peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich." Peanut butter and jelly looks at first like a plural subject, but the intended meaning of the sentence is something like: [the combination of] peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich.
Other examples cited in that article include, "two plus three makes five" => [the sum] two plus three makes five, "ten dollars is the cost of admission" => [a value of] ten dollars is the cost of admission.
So what about your "two pies"?
To answer the question, we'd need to know whether it was the two pies separately, each one working on its own, that kept the doctor away, or whether the pair of pies, as a unit, kept the doctor away. We can't definitely decide which of those is the case, since this is metaphorical language. I happen to read this statement as [Eating] two pies a day keeps the doctor away, and thus, I'd use the singular form, keeps.
answered 3 hours ago
JuhaszJuhasz
1,54417
answered 3 hours ago
JuhaszJuhasz
1,54417
answered 3 hours ago
JuhaszJuhasz
1,54417
answered 3 hours ago
JuhaszJuhasz
1,54417
1,54417
add a comment |
add a comment |
user337454 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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Well, "pies" is the subject so it should take a plural predicate: keep. However, I have never heard that advice about oatmeal pies. I've always been told, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." In fact, I don't think I've ever eaten an oatmeal pie.
– Zan700
3 hours ago