Hello (again)…
a pair of trousers (is -are) there.
a pair of shoes (is - are) there
a pair of men (is - are there)
what is the correct chose in each sentence?
Pedantically ‘is’ (one pair), but ‘are’ is quite common for native speakers to use.
this then is inaccurate ?
When the expression pair of is used as the subject of the verb, the verb must agree with the word pair.
e.g. Jeans are fashionable.
A pair of jeans is expensive.
Pliers are very useful.
A pair of pliers is often useful.
In the above examples, the nouns jeans and pliers take the plural verb are, and the noun pair takes the singular verb is.
I would make it singular in reference to everything but people, and even then I’d likely vote for the singular use. I have never heard the plural “pair” dismissed as incorrect, and some style guides actually have pedantic reasons to support its use that result in anything but clarity.
No, It’s totally accurate. As I said, it should be ‘a pair is…’ / ‘a couple is…’
ok thanks … I had a wrong meaning for “Pedantically”