Learn English – Why is “help you save money” wrong if the subject was plural

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Could you please explain to me why I got this sentence wrong?

Living at home and enjoying your mother’s cooking help you save money.

My teacher said "help" should have been written with an "s".

Why do I need to write an "s" since I was referring to two actions?

Best Answer

The sentence could be read two ways.

One, which you may have intended, is that there are two things that help you save money: 1) living at home and 2) eating your mother's cooking instead of going out to eat or buying your own food.

Another way you could read it is that it is just one thing: "living at home", which has the added benefit of enjoying your mother's cooking. One reason a person might interpret it this way is that "enjoying" isn't really relevant to saving money.

If you wanted to make it clear you meant the first, your could rephrase it to make it clear you meant two different activities. Perhaps something like:

Both living with your parents and eating at home instead of going out to eat help you save money

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