The Spelling Nazi thread.

[Stuie]

Originally posted by Theben
IIRC #2 is correct; had you said, "...the members of Cake..." then it would end with 'are', since it would refer to 'members' & 'Cake' is separated by a conjunction.

That's not a conjunction! That's a preposition! It would be "are" because of the plural "members" being the subject of the verb.

As for The Smiths, I'm pretty sure the correct usage would be...

"The Smiths" is a band to which I frequently listen.

Doesn't "sound" right, but it refers to a single entity.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Japher
What about The Smiths?

Do you know who the Smiths are?

Do you know who The Smiths are?



If I'm talking about a family I don't have to say "members of" so why if I am talking about the band?

The addition of the "s" at the end of Smith makes it plural. The fact that there is a, singular, band with that name just makes it one of those English anachronisms that everybody knows and loves.

[Atahualpa]

Originally posted by Japher
IMO, a science dude:

1) Is asking if you know the individual members of the band; Bob on the drums, George on the kazoo, etc.

2) Is asking if you know if the band as an entity; what songs they play, what genre, etc.

You don't know who (the band) Cake is?
You don't know who (the members of) Cake are?

It depends on what you want to imply.

[Last Conformist]

Re: The Spelling Nazi thread.

Originally posted by Oerdin
All right I have a question for you English majors out their regarding the proper use of "is" and "are" in a sentence. It is my understanding that "is" is singular while "are" is plural and that the conjugation of this verb must agree with the noun. So now let’s get to the question. The following two example sentences are about the band Cake (which was chosen at random); Cake has multiple band members but is one band. So which of these two sentences are correct?

1) "You don't know who Cake are?"

2) "You don't know who Cake is?"

My take is that Cake is one band and their name Cake is singular so the verb must make the noun as a singular conjugation. My friend is insisting that multiple people are in the band and so the plural must be used even though the word Cake doesn't end in an "S". I've decided to see what the 'poly language masters have to say on this matter.

Prescriptivists would have it that 1) is correct in British English and 2) is correct in American English.

[Theben]

Originally posted by JohnT
Not a bad X-post, if you ask me.

Bah, you just saw my post then typed fast.

That's not a conjunction! That's a preposition!

Which goes to show how long it's been since I studied English...

[Dinner]

Maybe that's it. A trans-Atlantic break down in the English language. Of course we're in America so maybe I should win since I suggested the American version.

[MrFun]

That and the fact that American English is naturally superior to the older English found on the eastern side of the frog pond.

[Boris Godunov]

Might I point out this is not a spelling issue; it's a grammar issue, mein Freund.

[Atahualpa]

(correct) german sighting

[Japher]

and thus, the threadkill

[St Leo]

You don't know what (the band) Cake is?
You don't know who (the members of) Cake are?

What is Cake? Cake is a band.
Who are Cake? Trent Reznor, Kurt Cobain, Brodey Dalle, and Jello Biafra.

[civman2000]

My understanding is that both are valid in British English with different meanings, but only #2 is valid in American English. For me, #1 is simply ungrammatical. IIRC #2 is actually a relatively recent linguistic innovation.

[Japher]

When does one use "whom"?

[civman2000]

After prepositions. Some prescriptivists will recommend it in other positions, but I've never met anyone who actually used it in anywhere else.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Lancer
I thought maybe you needed help spelling 'Himmler' or something.

'von dem Bach-Zelewski' would be more of a challenge.