I am, you are, he is, they are (#67; Topic L)

One of the most difficult aspects of English (or other western languages) is its verb to be. Its forms are "I am," "You are," "He is," or, when the subject is plural, "We are," "You are," "They are." These are the rules, simple and easy to remember, fair enough. But, I am stupid. Should it be "The news is good" or "The news are good"? When I was writing textbooks in my academic days, I used Varian Associates as a corporate name for illustrative purposes; I used it as a singular: "Varian Associates is a corporation ...." My publisher's copy editor took issue with that, and changed every is to are, and every it to they. When I changed them back to their singular form, these changes, known as AA (author's alterations), were my fault; I was responsible for the added type-setting costs. In yesterday's Washington Post, I read that, when President Bush visited a high school in Dallas to promote science education emphasized in his State of the Union address last Tuesday, he said: "You know, a lot of people probably think math and science isn't meant for me." After another cute sentence from him, "The audience chortled," reported the Post. I ask myself: Should it be isn't or aren't? I don't know. Suffice it to say that this quandary does not come about in Chinese -- a "be" is a "be" whether the subject is singular or plural -- forget am, are, is, or the infinitive be, which is not used in simple sentences any way.
Posted at 11:42 am, Sunday, January 5, 2006