One Type of Ambiguity: A Singular Verb with Two Subjects

Writers sometimes use two nouns to refer to a single person, thing, or concept. Claire Kehrwald Cook notes that in these cases the two nouns take a singular verb. Phrases like “sum and substance” and “part and parcel” refer to a single concept, and phrases like “a friend and colleague is attending” refer to a single person (Cook 77). Using two words to refer to one thing is sometimes called “hendiadys,” a Greek word that can be translated as “one by means of two,” a rhetorical device first described by the sixteenth-century writer George Puttenham (“Hendiadys,” def. 2). William Shakespeare was a big fan of this device, and it shows up frequently in his plays. For example, when Hamlet speaks of “the book and volume of my brain” (1.5.110), the phrase “book and volume” refers to a single thing—his own memory—which he is comparing to a written record.

But writers get into trouble when they try to use hendiadys when it’s not appropriate—that is, when they use a singular verb with a compound subject that really refers to two separate things. For example, one might write, “The passion and focus of the athlete is impressive.” Here the writer is trying to wrap up two aspects of the athlete’s personality into one concept, but passion and focus are not at all the same thing. So here it’s best to revise to a true hendiadys or else to use a plural verb. A real hendiadys would be this: “The passion and intensity of the athlete is impressive,” because “passion” and “intensity” are two ways of referring to the same basic concept. One could also revise to use a plural verb: “The passion and the focus of the athlete are impressive.” (Note that it’s also best to add another “the” before the second term, to avoid ambiguity.)

Whereas “passion” and “focus” are clearly two different things and so cannot form a hendiadys, sometimes it’s genuinely ambiguous whether a compound subject refers to one thing or to two. Consider another example: “The strangeness and novelty of her art is noteworthy.” “Strangeness” and “novelty” are close in meaning, but they don’t really refer to the same basic concept. One might revise this as “The originality and novelty of her art is noteworthy,” where “originality” and “novelty” are much closer in meaning, or as “The strangeness and the novelty of her art are noteworthy,” using a plural verb. As Cook notes, when the number of things being referred to could be ambiguous, opt either to reword or to use a plural verb (78).

Hendiadys is a rhetorical device that can make your writing lively and interesting, but the careful writer will take some time to consider whether the two nouns really are referring to one and the same thing.

Works Cited

Cook, Claire Kehrwald. Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1985.

“Hendiadys, N.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7997578821.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2026, www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/.