Singular or plural for same attribute of a set of nouns

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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swampwiz
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Singular or plural for same attribute of a set of nouns

Post by swampwiz »

I usually know the rules pretty well, but am a bit unsure about this.

[1] The temperature of the pots are not the same.

[2] The temperatures of the pots are not the same.

[3] The temperature of the pots is not the same.

I think it should be [1] as [2] doesn't sound proper. I suppose [3] could be proper, but it sounds the strangest.

Another reason I think it should be [1] is that [2] should refer to the situation in which there are multiple items in each of the prepositional objects

The potatoes in the pots were not cooked properly. <- there are multiple potatoes in each pot, where as there is only one temperature for each pot.
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Alan
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Re: Singular or plural for same attribute of a set of nouns

Post by Alan »

#2 is correct.
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