It's or they are...
What's correct English, please:
They are the papers of ownership? or
It's the papers of ownership?
"What are those?" "They are books." That's how it is explained in my English book (40 yrs old). Here in America, I often hear people saying "It's + plural". Is it American dialect or is it common in British English as well?
Thanks for yr. replies.
Easy way to remember: "it" is singular, "they", "those" and "these" are plural. Just match the right pronoun to the subject.
"I often hear people saying 'It's + plural'. Is it American dialect or is it common in British English as well?"
This is a very common idiomatic construction in English everywhere. It is also perfectly acceptable.
"It's lots of fun."
"It's people like you who cause trouble."
In constructions like this, a singular subject is often understood. "It's lots of fun" simply means "this activity is lots of fun," and "it's people like you" means "the problem is people like you."
>>"it's people like you" means "the problem is people like you."<<
Not necessarily. "It's people like you that makes this place wonderful" doesn't imply there is a problem. It's simpler to think of "it's people like you" as "it's a person like you".
"It's people like you" is usually followed by something negative, though.
"You'll enjoy our cruise. It's great live shows and excellent gourmet meals every night."
"It's your parents! They're delighted to hear we're coming to visit."
"It's the great men of history we always remember: Napoleon, Churchill, Lincoln, Caesar..."
Negative?
JJM: This is just bad English which is used commonly in America in advertising and media. For instance, "it's lots of fun" should be
"It's a lot of fun".
And then
"It's people like you that cause (this kind of) trouble."
Isn't 'people like you' considered to be singular in this sentence? Not sure if 'it is' always has to be singular anyway, more of a tense thing. Could be wrong...
"This is just bad English which is used commonly in America in advertising and media."
Bad English? Come off it. How do you explain "it's your parents"? And don't tell me you would say "they're your parents"?
>> JJM: This is just bad English which is used commonly in America in advertising and media. For instance, "it's lots of fun" should be
"It's a lot of fun". <<
And in Bwitain.
What about "There's no more bags" or "There's two of them". I live in Canada, and personally, I've never heard a native speaker say "There are ..." except in formal speech. Correct me if I'm wrong.
<<What's correct English, please:
They are the papers of ownership? or
It's the papers of ownership? >>
"They are the papers of ownership," I say is the correct English for that particular sentence.
However, "it's" is a contraction for "it is" and is perfectly acceptable in English, although I would use "they are" in that sentence because papers are plural. You could also use the contraction "they're," as in, "They're the papers of ownership."