Challenge with 'use of'

[kopjeking]

Hi, having a challenge with a sentence:

The use of seat belts save lives.

or

The use of seat belts saves lives.

Which is correct?

I think 'use of' is somehow influencing this sentence, as 'Seat belts save lives' is unquestionably correct.

Help appreciated, thanks.

[Krisi]

Hi, having a challenge with a sentence:

The use of seat belts save lives.

or

The use of seat belts saves lives.

Which is correct?

I think 'use of' is somehow influencing this sentence, as 'Seat belts save lives' is unquestionably correct.

Help appreciated, thanks.

first one.
(nice challenge)

the noun phrase, "seat belts save lives." follows the correct rule on noun and verb agreement. That is, the plural nouns take the plural verbs (or singular nouns take singular verbs.)
so this makes the second statement incorrect because the noun phrase didn't follow the correct grammar.

the use of seat belts save lives
the clause has the word "use" as noun which is followed by the preposition "of" to join it (use) to a noun phrase, "seatbelts save lives" to express a thought.
I see this as reminder for motorist like, if I will be asked to create a sentence for this, it goes; "Please have in mind that the use of seat belts save lives." or can also be, "Please have in mind that the use of seat belt saves lives."

for more about prepositions please check; https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions.htm

[behnam]

Hi, having a challenge with a sentence:

The use of seat belts save lives.

or

The use of seat belts saves lives.

Which is correct?

I think 'use of' is somehow influencing this sentence, as 'Seat belts save lives' is unquestionably correct.

Help appreciated, thanks.

Hi,

Thank you very much for the question. I am not sure about my answer, since my main of putting this post is not answering to your question. To be honest, I saw Krisi and took it as an excuse to write something in this place. Therefore, I can safely and surely say the love of krisi caused me to come here!

In my opinion, the second one 'The use of seat belts saves lives' sounds grammatically correct. As you know, 'save' is the verb of the sentence. In order to know what the subject of the sentence is we should ask ourselves 'what saves lives?' The answer is 'the use of seat belts', so 'the use of seat belts' is the subject of the sentence. Now, we should check if it is singular or plural. Both 'the' and the meaning of sentence shows the the subject is singular, so the verb of the sentence must take 's'! In other worlds 'the use of seat belts' is equivalent to 'it'. The sentence can be written 'It saves lives'!

The use of seat belts= the subject of the sentence
saves=the verb of the sentence,
lives=plural noun

I am sure you know that both 'seat' and 'belt' are nouns. However, when two nouns are put together, the first one plays the role of an adjective which describes the second noun. That's way in the phrase 'seat belts', 'seat' plays the role of adjective which describes 'belts'!

As you can notice, I wrote 'the subject of the sentence is ....! or I was brave enough to write: The love of Krisi cuases me to follow her in different forums!:lol:

I hope it helps. We would be very happy if you joined us in 'Let's Learn Together!'. I invite both of you to the thread 'Let's learn together!'!

All the best,
Behnam, 29 October, 2015