Grammar debate. Very serious.

[Crowe Diddly]

here's the question.

Which is correct and why?

(A) "These Gif things that everyone IS posting about are so much fun..."

OR

(B) "These GIF things that everyone ARE posting about are so much fun.

Neither, if you are also talking about the acronym GIF, which should be capitalized.

These GIF things, which everyone is posting about, are so much fun.

However, as we'll see below, its still awkward and could be written in many different ways, and probably should be. Also, lack of commas confuse the issue a bit.

I am 100% aware of "everyone" being a singular collective, and that "is", is almost always correct. But what are the "gif things" doing?

The "GIF things" are not doing anything. "is" is from the verb "to be", which is a linking verb, and not an action verb. Forget about nouns and verbs for a minute, though, and think in terms of subject and predicate. That's what is important here.

Let's define clause. A clause contains a subject and a predicate. If a sentence is the main grouping or words we use in English, clauses are the next level down. Some are independent clauses, meaning they could very well stand on their own as a sentence, and some are dependent, or subordinate clauses, meaning they aren't really enough of a complete thought to make sense on its own. Both have subjects and predicates tho, that's the main thing to remember here. Also, since both clauses have subjects and predicates, there IS NO REASON FOR THE 2 CLAUSES TO HAVE THE SAME CASE, VOICE, NUMBER, OR ANY OF THAT. That's the crux, and that's where you seem to be getting fucked up.

Here's my first explanation.

Forget about the sentence as a whole. The only thing that matters is the modifying clause "that everyone IS posting about". In that clause, 'everyone' is the subject. 'Everyone' is a singular pronoun. It gets IS, not ARE.

Answer is 100% A.

This is oversimplification.

...Take this example and consider in the sentence in question that there are two subjects: The dog is being annoying. The cats are being annoying. Everyone is being annoying. -- combined: The dog, the cats, and everyone are being annoying. Do you not see how if you changed ARE to IS it would leave out the other nouns? Are the gif things not being posted about?

EDITED CUZ I WAS WRONG: Now you are talking about something completely different. Now you have a sentence that's only a single clause, but with a compound subject. The rule there is completely different. Since you are adding up the subjects, yes indeed, the subject needs to be plural. You are correct, and thank you for correcting me. Keep in mind, tho, the original example has 2 clauses, none of which have compound subjects.

Who is posting? Everyone is posting.

What is so much fun? GIFs are so much fun.

These GIF things that everyone IS posting about ARE so much fun...

It can't be both though. If one is plural, they both have to be? I went through this step too.

No, because they are separate clauses, there is no need at all for them to match. I explained this above. Srsly is correct, as he is throughout the thread.

Should be "These GIFs that everyone are posting(not about) are so much fun."

GIF is correct not Gif but is should be GIFs, not GIF things

Your first sentence is incorrect and awkward. At the very least, the part "everyone are posting" needs to be "everyone is posting". Why not go with something like "Everyone is posting such fun GIFs," or "Everyone is posting GIFs, and they're so much fun!" The sentences read better if I use the contraction "Everyone's." Everyone's posting such fun GIFs! Some shit like that.

Your second sentence, "GIF is correct not Gif but is should be GIFs, not GIF things", I totally agree with. Acronyms should be capitalized, and 'GIF things' sounds weird. Again, tho, it wasn't necessarily grammatically wrong.

Do you say these apple things are bruised? I hope not. These apples are bruised. Subject apples, plural....are.

I wouldn't say that, no, but vaughn did, and that's the sentence we were working with.

Also, throw "that are" into the reworded sentence.

No. No need.

You're okay with GIF things? That fucks everything up. GIF is an acronym and should be capitalized and things should not be in the sentence

As above, I'd never say it, but it's not necessarily incorrect, just shitty-sounding.

Did I miss anything?