Thursday, May 2, 2013

Bonus Grammar Question

This was heard on a flight announcement. The first person to explain the error and correct it gets an extra point!
The use of mobile devices are now permitted.

2 comments:

JeffreyC155 said...

The use of mobile devices *is* now permitted.
The subject of the sentence, being “usage is permitted” is singular, meaning “is” should be used, not “are”.
The sentence could also be written as:
Mobile devices are now permitted to be used.
The subject is now “mobile devices” which is plural.

Veronica Baig said...

JEFFREY: Excellent--I cringed when I heard that one!