Posted on 02/16/2004 9:07:30 AM PST by AdmSmith
This is easily demonstrated. Consider the construction ''Physics is the study of ...'' (finish the sentence any way you like). If one would argue that the subject is plural, thus, ''Physics are the study of ...'', then one commits the egregious error of number by not having the verb agree with the predicate nominative. If, to correct the error, one subsequently modifies the sentence to ''Physics are the studies of ...'', one has created a statement which is false-to-fact. The discipline of physics (or mathematics, or ethics, or epistemics, etc.) is a single body of knowledge, not an agglomeration of studies.
Hence, physics is STILL fun, regardless of English lit majors.
Interestingly, when a singular noun ending in 's' has a second denotation, e.g. ''ethics'', which term may refer either to the philosophical body of study or to one's personal moral principles, said noun may take either a singular or a plural verb, according to context. Cf. ''Ethics is a fascinating study.'' vs. ''His ethics are those of a snake.''
(s) The Mad Grammarian (and many fond memories of Professor Sidney Lamb, the ARCH-stickler of grammar in bygone days)
Q. What is origin of the perfectly formed half-circle mouseholes common in cartoons?-- Branden Chopelas, Indian Trail, NC
Oh come on, Branden. Everyone knows that's one of the laws of cartoons:
Cartoon houses always have perfectly formed, good-sized mouseholes in the baseboards.
These laws, often labeled the Cartoon Laws of Physics, are posted at the Web sites of many university physics departments. They appear to have sprung from a 1980 article in Esquire, and have been added to over the years by different contributors.
These laws will seem more familiar than real scientific laws, if, like me, you grew up with Warner Brothers cartoons. (I have a tattoo of Daffy Duck on my right shoulder.)
Here are some of our favorite cartoon laws:
Explosive weapons don't cause serious injuries. They just turn characters momentarily black and smoky.
A character suspended in space (say, after running off a cliff) will remain so suspended until made aware of his situation.
A character passing through matter (say, a wall) will leave a perfect outline of his body.
If a character sticks his finger in the barrel of a gun, it will fire backwards.
If you are an alligator and you are punched, you will fly into the air and return as two suitcases and a purse.
The more frightened you are, the longer it takes to rev up your feet.
When a character is hit on the head, a long, narrow bump immediately grows.
Any character dressed as a woman is irresistible to any other character.
Whenever you walk on tippy-toes you are automatically accompanied by piccato violin.
Any country seen from orbit will have its name written on it.
Male cartoon animals wear boxer shorts under their fur.
"Is your seatbeat buckled? - I wanna try something. I'm pretty sure I can do it."
"I saw it in a cartoon once."
But he would have suffocated on Earth without a pressure suit...
Found it! Very funny stuff. Recommended: Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex. Sample:
But with kryptonian muscles behind it, Kal-El's semen would emerge with the muzzle velocity of a machine gun bullet. (*One can imagine that the Kent home in Smallville was riddled with holes during Superboy's puberty. And why did Lana Lang never notice that?*)
BTW, I agree that physics is/are fun. It was my favorite science subject.
Another one: data v. datum. Strictly speaking, it should be "data are."
"I could teach some folks about calculating the period of a pendulum."
Better watch out for changings in your metabolism eating a high carb diet like that...
Simple gravitational pull is not enough to explain all of Superman's powers (heat vision for example).
"Hold muh beer and watch this..."
By contrast, in British English (similarly, sic), ''The data is ... (anything).'' is simply unacceptable, although, to be sure, one sees this construction from time to time. The British construction almost always places number before other considerations, cf. ''Manchester United are enjoying a three-nil advantage.'' The other way to say this is that, in literate British dialect, if the subject of a sentence can **even possibly** in context be plural, then the attendant verb will be plural. There are a few exceptions, ''Parliament'' occasionally being seen with a singular verb, for example.
Etymologically, ''physics'', ''mathematics'', and other similar English nouns share the same odd history: from an ancient Greek plural, to a Latin (sometimes) plural, through French (where G-d alone knows what may have occurred), in the apparent singluar, to medieval English -- which had grotequely ill-defined usage for number and even less for coherent spelling. At some point, and your guess is as good as mine as to when, the evolution of these words simply halted in its tracks. As a result, we now have a class of nouns whose members **look** as if they should be plural, but are from grammatical considerations singular.
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