[plural] are a [sth] ?
There's a hot tweet:
"Blockchains are a new invention that allows meritorious participants in an open network to govern without a ruler and without money." (by a celebrity)
I'm confused by that [plural] are a [sth] ...
Is that sentence grammatically correct and acceptable? Thanks!And this paragraph looks more typical:
"Money is a network. Religion is a network. A corporation is a network. Roads are a network. Electricity is a network..."
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 5
3
If the subject is plural, then the verb is plural.
"Blockchains are..." - and that's all you need to know. The next noun can be plural or singular. It doesn't matter.
2
Yes, that pattern is grammatically-correct and commonly used in English.
We use the initial noun in the plural form because we are referring to the item/idea as a group, there, we will use the plural form of "to be" followed by a singular noun.
We do not say "Blockchain is a ....." because you are not referring to a specific blockchain (in which case, you would need to use "the", "this", etc.). Rather, you are referring to blockchains in general.
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