VERBS WITH PERIODS OF TIME

Do you sometimes get confused whether to use a singular or plural verb when you mention a period of time?

You are not the only one and your confusion is justified because what expresses a period of time often comes as plural nouns:?

minutes, hours, days, months and years. Examples:?

“Ten years is a long time” or “Ten years are a long time.”?

“Five minutes is too short for the exhibition” or “Five minutes are too short for the exhibition.”?

“The first ten days are tough” or the “The first ten days is tough.”?

“The seven months that you dedicated to this project are a waste” or “The seven months that you dedicated to this project is a waste.”?

A rule under the subject-verb agreement states that you are to use singular verbs with periods of time. Examples:

?“Ten years is a long time.”?

“Five minutes is too short for the exhibition.”?

“The first ten days is tough.”?

“The seven months that you dedicated to this project is a waste.

However, there are grammarians who believe that when periods of time are plural, follow them up with plural verbs.

They are the kinds of people that’d say: “Ten years are a long time.”?

They also have a point because “Years” is plural. “Ten years” is the plural subject of the sentence, it is thus grammatical to follow it with a plural verb.

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