Which phrase is correct? (Is using plural form for singular object make sense?) (Does using plural form for singular object make sense?)
Replying to the last edit (#4)... Since it language related site hence I am asking the question by creating new Q rather than commenting there. The earlier title was
Is using plural form for singular object make sense?
Moshi changed to
Does using plural form for singular object make sense?
I can see that using has "ing" as prefix of use which represent continuous (but it's not representing continuous here). I know that "Does" is used for a verb which verb is just in present rather than continuous or past or past perfect. If I think of the phrase mentally then I can see that "Is" is looking better than "Does". But whenever speaking both of them then it's like both are correct. But what does grammar say?
Why I still think using "does" isn't better? not better information
I am going to use "it" (i know that "it" isn’t better but "does" is used for third person hence i chose it) as for that phrase.
Does [it] using plural form for singular object make sense?
Is [it] using plural form for singular object make sense?
Which one is correct? Of course second one. Cause, "does" isn’t well fitted for any continuous verb.
Running is too hard.
Running too hard. (incorrect phrase)
Both of them are correct but both give different meaning. 2nd one is representing [someone] is running too hard. While 1st one represents It's too hard to run. So i can use "does" and "is" (both). But they will give different meaning.
For my case, "does" isn’t totally making sense.
Note : i had edited in mobile so i am not sure if I mistype something. For that reason, Sorry! And i don’t have time to re-read these texts also.
3 answers
The verb "do" is generally used for asking a question. Eliminating the extra words, the statement "It makes sense" turns into the question "Does it make sense?" "Is it make sense?" is grammatically incorrect.
Referring to the past, you'd ask "Did it make sense?" You could use a form of "be" with "ing" for an ongoing action, but you can't use "be" ("is", "am", etc.) with the base form of the verb. For a future situation, you'd ask "Will it make sense"?
Am I making sense? :)
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Do Support
Let's see exactly where the sentence comes from. There are two processes going on here, "do support" and "inversion".
The full, standard non-question sentence is, of course, "Using the plural form for a singular object makes sense." In "title-ese", of course, we tend to drop such things as the articles 'the' and 'a', and I will do so here as well to match the title in question.
In older English, we could directly invert it to form a question, i.e. "Makes using plural form for singular object sense?" However, in modern English, non-modal verbs are forbidden to undergo inversion. How can we form a question then? Using "do support": we use and invert the helping verb "do" (inflected as necessary).
| Original Sentence | "Using plural form for singular object makes sense." |
|---|---|
| Do support | "Using plural form for singular does make sense." |
| Plain inversion (archaic) | "Makes using plural form for singular object sense?" |
| Do support + Inversion | "Does using plural form for singular subject make sense?" |
Comparison with 'is'
Usage of 'is' is the continuous form. Notably, in your case, the present continuous (though you didn't inflect "make").
| Original Sentence | "Using plural form for singular object makes sense." |
|---|---|
| Present continuous | "Using plural form for singular is making sense." |
| Present continuous + Inversion | "Is using plural form for singular subject making sense?" |
While not grammatically incorrect, this would be strange to say because it uses the present continuous, that is, you are asking if it makes sense at the moment, not in general. With the 'do' construction, we are asking generally, which fits better in this context - a sentence making sense does not rely on the time.
Let's illustrate this with another sentence where the two constructions both make sense, but mean different things:
| Original Sentence | "He smiles." |
|---|---|
| Present continuous | "He is smiling." (right now) |
| Present continuous + Inversion | "Is he smiling?" (right now) |
| Do support | "He does smile." (There are times when he smiles) |
| Do support + Inversion | "Does he smile?" (Are there times when he smiles?) |
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"Does using plural form for singular object make sense?" is correct.
"Do" or "Does" is used at the beginning of an affirmative sentence to form a simple present tense question. "Does" is the third person form of "do".
e.g. "[It] makes sense." becomes "Does [it] make sense?"
You would use "do" for direct subjects, such as I, you, we or they. You use "does" for indirect subjects, such as he, she, it or that.
For example:
| Do/Does | Subject | Verb | Predicate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do | I | make | sense? |
| Do | you | understand | me? |
| Does | this | help | you? |
| Does | it | make | sense? |
"Is" can be used to form a present tense question about a single or uncountable noun, where you would use "are" for a plural noun. Or to make an affirmative statement about something.
For example:
Questions
| Is/Are | Subject(s) | Object(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Is | This | a fun grammar fact? |
| Is | the answer | interesting? |
| Are | questions | useful learning tools. |
| Are | There | different ways to form a sentence? |
| Is | it | making sense? |
Statements
| Subject | Is/Are | Object |
|---|---|---|
| This | is | a fun grammar fact. |
| The answer | is | interesting. |
| Questions | are | useful learning tools. |
| There | are | different ways to form a sentence. |
| It | is | making sense. |
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