do you use singular or plural form in this sentence?

[Dear Summer]

"Attached is a copy of X & Y" or "Attached are a copy of X and Y"

X & Y are two different documents

 

[Schmide]

Attached: Copy of X and Y.

 

[stormkroe]

Is.
Copy is singular.
'Are' would be for 'attached are copies' of x and y.

 

[Dear Summer]

Just wondering for future reference

 

[pete6032]

Attached is a zip file containing two documents. :awe:

 

[sactoking]

Is.
Copy is singular.
'Are' would be for 'attached are copies' of x and y.

And this only works if x and y are attached multiple times each, since the breakdown of the sentence needs to be "Attached are copies of x" and "Attached are copies of y."

 

[twinrider1]

Attached are copies of X and Y.

Would you say, This is my child Larry and Sue?

 

[Dear Summer]

Attached are copies of X and Y.

Would you say, This is my child Larry and Sue?

Ok, so it's "are", correct?

The posts above from others say otherwise

 

[squarecut1]

Attached are copies of X and Y.

Yes, this is correct

 

[blackdogdeek]

Yes, this is correct

"is" is correct. A singular copy is what is attached, NOT X and Y.

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't read the other part where X and Y are separate documents. I agree "Attached are copies of X and Y" is correct.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Copy is the subject. Copy is singular. "Is" is singular. The copy is attached.

Copies are the subjects. Copies is plural. "Are" is plural. The copies are attached.


The original sentence is incorrect in that there was attached a copy of both X and Y, therefore it should say copies and are. UNless it said "a copy of both X and Y"


...right?

 

[Mixolydian]

Attached is a copy of X and Y.
Attached are copies of X and Y.

Either one sounds correct to me.

You could also do "Attached is a copy of both X an Y". Perhaps the "both" is redundant though.

 

[Pulsar]

Copy is the subject. Copy is singular. "Is" is singular. The copy is attached.

Copies are the subjects. Copies is plural. "Are" is plural. The copies are attached.


The original sentence is incorrect in that there was attached a copy of both X and Y, therefore it should say copies and are. UNless it said "a copy of bot X and Y"


...right?

Yes.

 

[Apathetic]

Is.
Copy is singular.
'Are' would be for 'attached are copies' of x and y.

this

Dave

 

[Mai72]

The difference between are and is.

http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-is-and-are-in-english-grammar/

You would use is if what you're talking about is singular, and are if it was plural.

I like this site. A little childish but it's decent.

http://www.grammar-monster.com/

 

[angminas]

Correct:
Attached: copies of X and Y.
Copies of X and Y are attached.
X is the <blank> mentioned above, and Y is the <blank>. I have attached copies of both.

Incorrect:
Attached: copy of X and Y.
Attached is a copy of X and Y.

Incorrect but tolerable:
Attached are copies of X and Y.

Correct but snarky-sounding:
Attached: copy of X and copy of Y.

 

[DrPizza]

Correct:
Attached: copies of X and Y.
Copies of X and Y are attached.
X is the <blank> mentioned above, and Y is the <blank>. I have attached copies of both.

Incorrect:
Attached: copy of X and Y.
Attached is a copy of X and Y.

Incorrect but tolerable:
Attached are copies of X and Y.

Correct but snarky-sounding:
Attached: copy of X and copy of Y.

I think, "I have attached a copy of each" would be a bit better.

 

[Schfifty Five]

"Attached is a copy of X & Y" or "Attached are a copy of X and Y"

X & Y are two different documents

Attached is a copy of X & Y
Attached are copies of X & Y

Both are correct and would be understood by the recipient (hopefully).

 

[Smoblikat]

Attached are copies of X, Y, and Z.

 

[twinrider1]

Correct:
Copies of X and Y are attached.

Incorrect but tolerable:
Attached are copies of X and Y.

 

[BoomerD]

Is.
Copy is singular.
'Are' would be for 'attached are copies' of x and y.

This.."Is a copy" or "Are copies."

 

[stormkroe]

Attached are copies of X and Y.

Would you say, This is my child Larry and Sue?

This analogy isn't fully parallel. The OP example would have to be 'Attached is x and y'. But since the subject is a visceral variable (copy, picture, recording, etc) an accurate version would be:
This is a photo of Larry and Sue.

Because we don't know the nature of the 'copy', the original remains valid unless finer detail nullifies it.

 

[amdhunter]

Here's those damned documents you requested.

 

[Drako]

Here's those damned documents you requested.

Here are ... :|

 

[Rakehellion]

Attached are copies of X and Y.

Would you say, This is my child Larry and Sue?

Wrong. There are two children, but one copy.