subject and verb agreement

[LinqingJ930]

Hi,

when a whole clause as the subject, for example,

What is much more difficult to determine is the use ....

Is the verb "is" in the main clause is determined by the verb "is" in the clause"What is much more difficult to determine" ?

My question is when the verb in the what clause becomes "are", the verb in the clause also should use the plural form or it still is the singular form?

Thank you.

[RonPurewal]

Hi,

when a whole clause as the subject, for example,

What is much more difficult to determine is the use ....

Is the verb "is" in the main clause is determined by the verb "is" in the clause"What is much more difficult to determine" ?

My question is when the verb in the what clause becomes "are", the verb in the clause also should use the plural form or it still is the singular form?

Thank you.

In a sentence constructed like this one"”"”in which "what" is the object of a verb ("determine")"”"”I don't think you can make the first verb plural.
Constructions like "what are xxxx" do exist"”"”see OG 13th, #72, for an example"”"”but (a) they don't work like this one, and (b) they are pretty much never going to appear as the subject of a sentence.
So, this seems like a non-issue to me.