"both is serious business" or "both are serious business".... which one is correct

Question

"both is serious business" or "both are serious business"....  which one is correct

jagatuba · Answer

You are referring to more than one so what should it be?

anonymous · Answer

pretty confused...  i thought business was singular,isn't it?

wach · Answer

No, 'both' is the subject of the phrase, and 'business' is what it is (so it would be the direct object). Knowing that both is plural, like jagatuba said, would the verb be singular or plural?

jagatuba · Answer

You are not referring to business You are referring to whatever both is referring to.

jagatuba · Answer

lol what wach said.

anonymous · Answer

a'ha............ seems i got pretty rusty @ grammar

wach · Answer

Nah, pronouns can be tricky when it comes to grammar.

anonymous · Answer

both = more than one,(two or more) = plural = "they" = are.

jagatuba · Answer

@smartgirl06 Well technically both = exactly two, but yes either way it's plural therefore the proper verb form to use is the plural: are.