When subject is singular but predicate is plural
I may be using the word predicate incorrectly (as I forget a lot of grammar terms) but how would you say this sentence?
"A perfect metaphor for this is three rivers intertwining."
Using "is" just sounds wrong to me as I feel the need to say: "are three rivers..."
But it also sounds wrong to me to say: "A perfect metaphor are..."
Brenner
New member
2 answers 
You don't want to say 'are'. The subject is 'metaphor', so 'is' is correct. The metaphor is 'three rivers intertwining' and is thought of as a single unit. This, however, is not a metaphor. A metaphor compares two apparently unrelated things. An example would be 'life is like three rivers intertwining', but it's not a very good one, and I have no idea as to what it might mean.
A perfect metaphor for this is 'life is like three rivers intertwining'.
The quotation marks emphasize the fact that the metaphor is a unit.
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answered Mar 08 at 21:22
Lewis Neidhardt
Expert
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Thanks for your answer. I really appreciate it.
add comment"life is like three rivers intertwining" is NOT a metaphor...it is a simile
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answered Mar 25 at 06:49
MeetJoeAsian
New member
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