Gallows is/are etc

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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1

Hi,

If the singular form of the noun for example: gallows, has the plural spelling with ,s’ at the end, so we should write:

gallows is or are

gallows was or were

gallows has been or have been etc.

Thanks.

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2

If a word is singular, countable, it should be treated as such, regardless of the final letter.

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OK, thanks, so we will write: gallows is/was/has :slight_smile:

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Unless you mean a ‘set’ of gallows, in which case, it is plural.

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gallows - singular
a set of gallows-plural, but a set - is still singular, so will we write:

A set of gallows are located over there. ? - according you

But if we think generally about ‘a set of sth’ as a singular I’d write:

A set of gallows is located over there.- still not correct?

What do you think?

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6

The word ‘set’ falls into the same category as collective nouns like ‘team’ ‘group’ and so on where you either concentrate on the plural nouns or you think only of the single collective noun. In the case of ‘a set of gallows’, which is an odd expression but it refers more to the set rather than the gallows. You would say: I bought a set of table mats for Christmas. What do you think of them (rather than of it.) ? Of course it’s worth bearing in mind that ‘gallows’ isn’t plural anyhow!

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Beeesneees/Alan,

  1. A set of table mats were bought for Christmas.
  2. A set of gallows were arranged to hang the terrorists.
    Are they correct?
    Thanks.
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Hi Dear Alan,

So if I concentrate on ‘set’ I write:

A set of gallows is located over there.

If I concentrate on ‘gallows’ I write:

A set of gallows are located over there. ?

Thank You :slight_smile:

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Beeesneees,

  1. A set of table mats were bought for Christmas.
  2. A set of gallows were arranged to hang the terrorists.
    Are they correct?
    Thanks.
10

Hi Dear Alan,

Please answer to two below questions:

So if I concentrate on ‘set’ I write:

A set of gallows is located over there.?

I meant:

If I concentrate on ‘gallows in plural’= ‘a set of gallows’ I write:

A set of gallows are located over there. ?

Thank You :slight_smile:

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11

Luschen,
Could you help me, please.
Thanks.

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Anglophile,
Could you help me, please.
Thanks.

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Sorry Allifathima, I am never sure about this type of question. My gut says it is one set, so I would use “was”, not “were”, but I am not positive.

Also, I am not sure what a “set of gallows” would be. Is that like two or three gallows arranged side by side? {or is it “two or three gallowses”?}

— edited —

Sorry, I didn’t see Alan’s post above. I guess the focus is on the set for #1, so “was” and on the gallowses for #2, so “were”, but I am not positive.

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14

Beeesneees/Alan,
Since Luschen says that he is not quite sure about his answer,
please answer to clear the doubt.
Thanks.

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15

I’m asking about it, too.
Please answer my last questions.

Thank You

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16

Alan,
We all expect the answer from you, since we keep you in high esteem with respect to English.
I wrote a private message to you, but I never received any response from you.
So I am regretting to see this pitiable situation.
We are participating in this forum to learn English.
If we can’t learn how to make a sentence with gallows in plural, where I can go and complain?
With high regards,
Allifathima.

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17

The usual rules apply.

If you are referring to sets of gallows, then they ARE located…
If you are referring to a set of gallows then it IS located…

There are two/three/four sets of gallows on the edge of the town.
There us a/one set of gallows on the edge of town.

There are gallows on the edge of the town.
There is a gallows on the edge of a town.

The rest is context dependent.

And as for ‘complaining’, Allifathima, don’t you think that’s a little rich given the amount of free advice you receive on the forums, of which you are a free member? There is no contract or legal obligation to answer any of the questions here.
If you make purchases, then of course the situation is different, but that situation does not relate to the free forums.

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18

Strange…Oxford dictionary says “PLURAL NOUN [usually treated as singular]”.
So as I understand, it can have both forms.

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I treat gallows as plural.
The gallows are…

I checked several dictionaries and they are mixed. I have a 1968 and 1946 Websters and a 1936 New Century dictionary. All of which show the plural as gallowses, which sounds strange to me ( my spell checker doesn’t like it either ).

Of four different online dictionaries, two show the plural as gallowses. One says that gallows is “usually treated as singular”, and another shows gallows as plural.

So no matter how you do it, you can always say the dictionary agrees with you and be right.

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So, it’s similar to ‘headquarters’ or ‘news’?