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One thousand old refrigerators floating in the ocean (isn't/aren't) an issue.

Is the subject here "One thousand old refrigerators" or is it the whole phrase "One-thousand old refrigerators floating in the ocean", that is what is confusing me... should I use isn't or aren't here? The word "floating" here is a present participle right?

Thank you.

Edwin Ashworth
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zeref
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  • You should not hyphenate 'one-thousand' if you mean (in words) 1000. – Michael Harvey May 16 '21 at 16:15
  • The subject is 'One thousand old refrigerators floating in the ocean'. This has a plural form. But I'd use a notional override here, in almost exactly the same way as with 'Bacon and eggs is my favourite meal'. 'Bacon and eggs' is plural in form but notionally unitary (a single meal). Similarly, 'Your team were lucky to win' evokes the eleven say members of the team; 'team' is singular in form but here notionally plural. 'Notional agreement', opted for by many, overrides formal agreement as necessary. Here, 'The fact that there are 1000 old refrigerators floating ...' allows singular concord. – Edwin Ashworth May 16 '21 at 18:31
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    Remove everything extraneous: Refrigerators are an issue. See? :) – Lambie May 16 '21 at 18:32
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    Does this answer your question? notional subject-verb agreement other than for measurement, degree, etc: 7 children is/are too many to raise ... – Edwin Ashworth May 16 '21 at 18:37
  • @Lambie Try that with 'Fish and chips is my favourite meal'. You have to take into account whether you espouse notional agreement (and I'd say everyone does to some degree) and to what degree, and to what degree it should be applied in a given case. – Edwin Ashworth May 16 '21 at 18:39
  • @EdwinAshworth How is that even relevant? There's not a hint of two-seen-as-one here. – Lambie May 16 '21 at 18:41
  • [1000 ... ... ] seen as one issue. As with 'Chelsea were beaten fairly and squarely'. 'Seven children is too many.' – Edwin Ashworth May 16 '21 at 18:42
  • The singular agreement is more natural here. As with money, time, and weight, we normally use notional agreement: Ten minutes is a long time. Even though minutes is plural, the notion is that of a singular period of time. Similarly, even though refrigerators is plural, the notion is that of one big-ass problem. – Tinfoil Hat May 16 '21 at 18:59
  • Thank you guys and yeah @EdwinAshworth singular sounds okay. – zeref May 17 '21 at 14:43

1 Answers1

-2

Aren't should be used, since there are one thousand old refrigerators (plural).

So:

  • One old refrigerator floating isn't an issue.
  • One thousand old refrigerators floating in the ocean aren't an issue.
Oliver
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  • Why the downvotes? Why is it not useful? Just because it has answers somewhere else, doesn't mean the other answer is not useful. – Oliver May 17 '21 at 07:18
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    People don't think 'Aren't should be used, since there are one thousand old refrigerators (plural)' concedes that notional agreement is possible – even preferable – in this case. This answer is over-prescriptive. But I won't add a downvote; -2 works adequately. – Edwin Ashworth May 17 '21 at 17:05