Subjects and verbs, like linguists, don’t necessarily have to agree.
When I note that subjects and verbs must play nice—no conflict, no disagreement, staying on the same figurative page—I’m right, aren’t I?
What? I are not right?
Indeed, I are definitely not right, as evidenced that few readers took exception to the “I’m right, aren’t I?” sentence above. Well, maybe you —you individually, the person holding this copy of this book at this moment—took exception, but did you hear anyone else speak up about it when you were reading it? I rest my case.
Now, if someone were to track me down in the hallway and insist that verbs must agree with their subjects, I would reply, “You’re right,” and not just because I fear that someone who would track me down to make such a point might want to elevate the argument to fisticuffs. I would then add, “Because you are right, you are wrong.” The singular you “are” right? If “you are right” is right, then subjects
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Bill Brohaugh
and verbs don’t necessarily have to agree, and therefore the “you” who has tracked me down in the hall is wrong (are wrong?).
Convinced? Good, because now you’re wrong. “You are right” is right on historical terms, and “You is wrong” is wrong on those same terms. To learn why, thou ist invited (and y’all are invited, too) to consult the entry for “Y’all” elsewhere in this book, 15 specifically, page 165.