Learn English – ‘Is’ or ‘are’ for two uncountable nouns/subjects

grammar

In my last ask, I got to know that we use ‘is’, not ‘are’ if we say “Why is there so much violence in that movie?” because there is only one noun/subject (violence) and it’s an uncountable noun. Now, if we say “Why is/are there so much violence and nudity in Game of Thrones?”, which one should I use? ‘Is’ or ‘are’? There are two nouns/subjects(‘violence’ and ‘nudity’) and both of them are uncountable.

I’m writing the sentences below:

  1. Why is there so much violence and nudity in Game of Thrones?

  2. Why are there so much violence and nudity in Game of Thrones?

Best Answer

In cases when two singular nouns are regarded separately, they take a plural verb.

An orange and an apple were on the table.

But when they are compound nouns (they combine to describe something else), they take a singular verb.

Peaches and cream is my favourite dessert

The following explanation comes from grammarbook.com
*As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and.

Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.

But note these exceptions:

Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming.*

In those sentences, breaking and entering and bed and breakfast are compound nouns.

In your example, violence and nudity is regarded as a compound noun - two elements that come together to describe the tone of the series.

In some cases, people may choose to use either singular or plural verbs, depending on which sounds better to them.

Ham and cheese is what I prefer.
Ham and cheese are what I prefer.

https://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerbAgree.asp

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