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Subject:RE: Is Contents Singular or Plural? From:"Steve Miller" <mlevel -at- home -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 10 Feb 2000 05:55:54 -0800
> > The contents of the table entry area are unpredictable when no match is
found.
> > The contents of the table entry area is unpredictable when no match is
found.
The first of your two examples is correct. "Contents ... are," or "content ...
is." The plural verb "are" agrees with the plural subject "contents."
I usually try to put cause before effect in sentences like this. Also, you may
also want to look at active vs. passive voice; active is usually (though not
always) the best way to construct a sentence:
"If <the program> finds no matches, the table entry area contains unpredictable
results."
