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It's the little things that show (or shows)?

English translation: show

19:55 Dec 13, 2019
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Marketing - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / basic English grammar-verb/subject agreement
English term or phrase: It's the little things that show (or shows)?
Dear colleagues,

In your opinion, is one of the following two sentences grammatically incorrect?

A) It’s the little things from XXX that show the love.

B) It’s the little things like this offer form XXX that shows the love.

In Example A, we have the plural form of the verb “show,” because of the plural “little things.”
In Example B, the rationale that was used to use the singular form of the verb is that the addition of “like this offer” makes the subject single.

I disagree, and believe that the subject is the singular “it” in both cases, so in Example A, the verb should have been written as “shows.” However, I feel rather uneasy about it, and my level of confidence is low.

What say you?
George Rabel
Local time: 01:20
Selected answer:show
Explanation:
Show for both. Little things is the subject in both sentences and "like this" has no effect on the main subject-verb structure.
Selected response from:

Ali Sharifi
United States
Local time: 01:20
Grading comment
Not a single disagreement or a different option. Thank you very much, Ali.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
5 +12show
Ali Sharifi


  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +12
it's the little things that show (or shows)?
show


Explanation:
Show for both. Little things is the subject in both sentences and "like this" has no effect on the main subject-verb structure.

Ali Sharifi
United States
Local time: 01:20
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in Persian (Farsi)Persian (Farsi)
Grading comment
Not a single disagreement or a different option. Thank you very much, Ali.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: "It" is an abstraction, as in "it is raining", not a singular object.
13 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
27 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Francisco Chagas: Agreed on both counts. It is wise to always keep track of one's intended subject.
32 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Stephen McCann
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: "like this offer from xxx", is a subclause and not the subject of verb which is "little things" in both sentences, as you say. Nothing to do with "it" either.
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  Tony M
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  Charlotte Fleming
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  David Hollywood
2 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Lara Tagliapietra
3 hrs
  -> Thank you
agree  Dayana Hashim
17 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  AllegroTrans
22 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Elias Marios Kounas
2 days 16 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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