Is pair singular or plural? I suppose that 'a pair' is singular but 'the pair' plural? As you can see, I'm very confused. From Bartleby,
The noun pair can be followed by a singular or plural verb. The singular is always used when pair refers to a set considered as a single entity: This pair of shoes is on sale. A plural verb is used when the members are considered as individuals: The pair are working more harmoniously now. After a number other than one, pair itself can be either singular or plural, but the plural is now more common: She bought six pairs (or pair) of stockings. For more on this, see subject and verb agreement under Grammar.What if it is a pair of hoodlums, as in, "a pair of hoodlums are walking down the street." Does that sond right? Or is it, "a pair of hoodlums is walking down the street." Ok that sounds worse. Posted by torque at July 29, 2004 3:11 PM | TrackBack
A professional editor or writer will take the coward's way out and change the construction of the sentence altogeher, so that "two hoodlums" or "a couple of them" are walking down the street!
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