bothers/bother

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1
  1. Coming so often and going so often bothers me.
  2. Coming so often and going so often bother me.
    Which one is correct?
2

“Coming”, like all gerunds, is considered singular, so it should be “bothers”.

3

Luschen,
Thanks for your comments.
But I have a question.
Is not ‘Coming and going’ a plural subject?
Please comment. Thanks.

4

Yes you are correct. Sorry it was a little late last night and I wasn’t paying adequate attention. It would be more natural to say “Your/her/his coming and going so often bother me.” But now that I have written it that way, perhaps “coming and going” is really just one action. Hopefully someone else will weigh in.

5

I would use ‘bothers’ there, combining ‘coming and going’ into a singular action.