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Subject:Singuler or plural verb with noun(s)? From:Geoff Hart <Geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> Date:Tue, 10 Aug 1999 12:12:12 -0400
Kathleen Holscher queried <<The downtime will be extended
while the application(s) [is/are?] installed.>>
Since the sense of "noun(s)" is inherently plural (here,
application or applications), the verb should also be plural
(are). However, this is never an elegant way to phrase things,
since some proportion of your audience will always think you
blew it, whichever verb you choose. Since I'm not a fan of
passive voice either, I'd propose the following rewording:
"The more applications you install, the greater the increase in
downtime." (I assume "downtime" is clear from context?)
