The sentence I am questioning is:
The convenience and availability of disposable diapers has also made it easy...
The rejection stated that the subject was plural and therefore the verb must be have - a plural. I do not understand the subject to be plural. If I state it one at a time it would read - The convenience of disposable diapers has also made it easy. - or - The availability of disposable diapers has also made it easy. I can't say The convenience of disposable diapers have made it easy. Using two singular subjects should not a plural verb make. Am I right or wrong? I need to get this accepted asap as it is for a public request and it may run out soon.
Any comments/suggestions would be appreciated
singular or plural subject
Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed, Constant
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Elizabeth Ann West
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Re: singular or plural subject
Some balloons have red strings, others have yellow.
This balloon has a red string.
It should be:
The convenience and availability of disposable diapers have also made it easy to....
Convenience and availability are not your subjects, the subject is disposable diapers.
Disposable diapers' convenience and availability have also made it easy....
You are trying to think of disposable diapers like a single entity, and thus use "has"
This balloon has a red string.
It should be:
The convenience and availability of disposable diapers have also made it easy to....
Convenience and availability are not your subjects, the subject is disposable diapers.
Disposable diapers' convenience and availability have also made it easy....
You are trying to think of disposable diapers like a single entity, and thus use "has"
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MelissaNott
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Re: singular or plural subject
This is what I think: the subjects are "convenience" and "availability"--plural. Diapers (a singular entity) is not the subject. The subject DOES something; in this case, the subject "makes" it easy.
I also think that a lot of people would make this grammatical error in speech, so it is an easy one to overlook! Good luck.
I also think that a lot of people would make this grammatical error in speech, so it is an easy one to overlook! Good luck.
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Celeste Stewart
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Re: singular or plural subject
The plurality of disposable diapers has nothing to do with it. The subject of the sentence isn't disposable diapers the way the sentence is constructed; the subject is convenience and availability. Don't quote me on this, but I believe that "disposable diapers" is the object. To think I used to enjoy diagramming sentences in high school LOL.
The convenience of ____ has made it possible to... (convenience has made it possible)
The availability of ___ has made it possible to... (availability has made it possible)
The convenience and availability of ___ have made it possible to... (convenience and availability have made it possible to)
If you substitute a singular noun in the blank, the verbs would be the same because the subject remains plural:
and it won't affect the verbs
The convenience of the Internet has made it possible to...
The availability of the Internet has made it possible to...
The convenience and availability of the Internet have made it possible to...
The convenience of ____ has made it possible to... (convenience has made it possible)
The availability of ___ has made it possible to... (availability has made it possible)
The convenience and availability of ___ have made it possible to... (convenience and availability have made it possible to)
If you substitute a singular noun in the blank, the verbs would be the same because the subject remains plural:
and it won't affect the verbs
The convenience of the Internet has made it possible to...
The availability of the Internet has made it possible to...
The convenience and availability of the Internet have made it possible to...
Re: singular or plural subject
This is correct and an excellent way to demonstrate it. Nicely done.Celeste Stewart wrote:The plurality of disposable diapers has nothing to do with it. The subject of the sentence isn't disposable diapers the way the sentence is constructed; the subject is convenience and availability. Don't quote me on this, but I believe that "disposable diapers" is the object. To think I used to enjoy diagramming sentences in high school LOL.
The convenience of ____ has made it possible to... (convenience has made it possible)
The availability of ___ has made it possible to... (availability has made it possible)
The convenience and availability of ___ have made it possible to... (convenience and availability have made it possible to)
If you substitute a singular noun in the blank, the verbs would be the same because the subject remains plural:
and it won't affect the verbs
The convenience of the Internet has made it possible to...
The availability of the Internet has made it possible to...
The convenience and availability of the Internet have made it possible to...
To directly answer the question, two singular subjects do indeed a plural verb make.
'Jack and Karen hunt rabbits.' vs. 'Jack and Karen hunts rabbits.'
As a side note, the object is actually the word 'it.'
Re: singular or plural subject
Only writers could enjoy this kind of a conversation. Well diagrammed, Celeste.
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Judith
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Re: singular or plural subject
BIG thanks to everyone for their comments! I took the easy way out, due to time constraints, and simply rewrote it. As it turned out there wasn't enough time to make the request deadline. But the article is accepted and available. Anyone interested in potty training? 
:) Just kidding
:) Just kidding