Тимур
Hello to Italki community!
Can you help me please to sort it out ?
There is a question: "Have you ever threatened to throw away a piece of technology that failed working?"
And the answer is: "Yes, it was my AirPods"
My question is: can use plural (AirPods) after "it was"? If not, what shoud I say instead?
2022년 4월 3일 오전 6:32
답변 · 5
1
Albert: In English, the verb agrees with the subject, not with the predicate nominative. The noun before the verb (or immediately after, if we’re using inversion) is the subject, while the noun after the verb is the predicate nominative. In your example, the subject of the main clause is “it”. Even though “it” is a dummy subject, it still governs the verb. The fact the word "AirPods" is plural is irrelevant in English.
Note: We don't say "failed working" (as a phrase), but rather "failed to work" (or simply "failed").
2022년 4월 3일
1
I agree with Phil's answer.
Also, Spangola's answer is what I would say myself in most cases.
Good luck!
2022년 4월 3일
1
We would just say: "Yes, my AirPods."
2022년 4월 3일
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