# How would you rewrite this sentence? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607 "2020-08-08T20:36:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/1 "2020-08-08T20:36:26Z")
I wrote the following sentence as part of a post to a Facebook group (which I have not yet posted): “The health and safety of us all is paramount.” It seems wrong. Given the dual subjects, “are” should be the correct verb. Health and safely _are_ paramount. Yet, “The health and safety of us all are paramount” sounds incredibly clunky to my ear. I could switch the whole thing up with something like “The most important thing is that we all stay safe and healthy.” But I’m not crazy about that either; it sounds more passive than I want to convey. What would you do? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/2 "2020-08-08T20:38:47Z")
“Our health and our safety are of paramount importance.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/3 "2020-08-08T20:43:10Z")
That’s good. You might not need the second “our.” “Our health and safety are of paramount importance.” You could be punchier, though. Make it an imperative. “Be smart. Be safe. Stay healthy.” ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/4 "2020-08-08T20:46:23Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > “Our health and our safety are of paramount importance.” You do not need the modifier “importance” in your sentence. Nor the extra “our.” Our health and safety are paramount. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/5 "2020-08-08T20:48:19Z")
Sounds fine to me as is. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/6 "2020-08-08T20:48:48Z")
Another option: “Our health and safety are paramount.” “Paramount importance” is fine if you like pleonasm (I frequently do) but if you want brevity, “importance” can go. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/7 "2020-08-08T20:52:12Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > “Our health and our safety are of paramount importance.” I do like this. The context, for what it’s worth, is announcing the cancellation of an event that several people were looking forward to. Sort of like, “I know it sucks, but we all gotta stay safe.” This is the whole paragraph: “It’s a sad occasion, but we’re not going to dwell on the negative. This year has kicked a lot of people’s asses in a lot of different ways, and we are certainly not the only ones forced to (temporarily!) forego something that’s important to us. The health and safety of us all is paramount, and while we still have that we are truly fortunate.” I like the last sentence less every time I read it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/8 "2020-08-08T21:03:17Z")
I think what’s happening is that “health and safety” is such a common expression that we think of it as a single concept, hence the feeling that maybe should take the singular form of the verb. We often have a “Health and Safety Department”, so it’s natural that we think of health-and-safety" as one thing. If it were “heath and income”, or even reversed to the less familiar “safety and health”, the feeling that the subject of the verb is singular goes away. Consider the following expanded sentences: The issue of health and safety is of paramount importance. The issues of health and income are of paramount importance. It seems natural to treat “health and safety” as a single issue; whereas health and income are definitely two issues. So you could argue that when you shorten the sentence and write just “health and safety” as the subject of the verb you’re implicitly referring to a single issue, just as when you write “mac and cheese” you’re referring to a single dish. On that basis, the singular verb does not just _feel_ right, I think there’s a good argument that it’s technically correct. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/9 "2020-08-08T21:10:45Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I think there’s a good argument that it’s technically correct. It’s also not just ‘health and safety’ but ‘health and safety of us all’. I don’t see why that can’t be singular. ‘The health and safety of us all is a good thing.’ ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/10 "2020-08-08T21:23:20Z")
“Health and safety are paramount for all of us.” ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/11 "2020-08-08T23:08:26Z")
In literature, I generally don’t feel good about “of” sentences. “He backed straight into the guns of Jack.” That just strikes me as hellishly awkward. (I recently read a novel where the author used that construction extensively. Ow.) ---
**Author:** ![Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Cheeseburger)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/12 "2020-08-08T23:26:36Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I think what’s happening is that “health and safety” is such a common expression that we think of it as a single concept, hence the feeling that maybe should take the singular form of the verb. We often have a “Health and Safety Department”, so it’s natural that we think of health-and-safety" as one thing. If it were “heath and income”, or even reversed to the less familiar “safety and health”, the feeling that the subject of the verb is singular goes away. > > Consider the following expanded sentences: > > The issue of health and safety is of paramount importance. > The issues of health and income are of paramount importance. > > It seems natural to treat “health and safety” as a single issue; whereas health and income are definitely two issues. So you could argue that when you shorten the sentence and write just “health and safety” as the subject of the verb you’re implicitly referring to a single issue, just as when you write “mac and cheese” you’re referring to a single dish. On that basis, the singular verb does not just _feel_ right, I think there’s a good argument that it’s technically correct. The Health and Safety Department is deciding to… health and safety concerns are dictating that… Macoroni and cheese is a delicious dish Macoroni and cheese are delicious together ---
**Author:** ![Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Cheeseburger)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/13 "2020-08-08T23:30:52Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Our health and our safety are of paramount importance.” i’d go with this ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/14 "2020-08-08T23:30:53Z")
> [@Bacon\_Cheeseburger](#): > > health and safety concerns are dictating that… The subject here is “concerns”, plural. ---
**Author:** ![Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Cheeseburger)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/15 "2020-08-08T23:32:38Z")
health and safety are dictating that (concerns is the implied subject) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/16 "2020-08-08T23:35:19Z")
Sure, and if you accept that “health and safety concerns” (plural) can be the implied subject, then you must equally accept that “the issue of health and safety” (singular) can be the implied subject. So I’d say that either form of the verb is grammatically okay. ---
**Author:** ![Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bacon\_Cheeseburger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Cheeseburger)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/17 "2020-08-08T23:40:09Z")
The “issue” is singular in this case, rather than “concerns” being plural. So without clarifying “health and safety” as a catchall singular subject, i think it health and safety should be plural. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/18 "2020-08-08T23:40:43Z")
I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that I’m overthinking it. People will understand what I’m saying and it’s therefore probably fine the way it is. I’m not vying for a Pulitzer here. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/19 "2020-08-08T23:52:32Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that I’m overthinking it. People will understand what I’m saying and it’s therefore probably fine the way it is. I certainly wouldn’t worry that using “is” is technically wrong. It’s not, since there are clearly other examples of A and B that are treated at singular. It comes down to whether we feel “health and safety” is treated as one thing, so I’d just choose whichever sounds stylistically better to your ear. I think it’s a marginal case where either “is” or “are” are probably fine. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607/20 "2020-08-08T23:58:15Z")
> [@Bacon\_Cheeseburger](#): > > health and safety are dictating that > (concerns is the implied subject) Wrong. @Riemann is absolutely correct. “Health and safety” is effectively a singular concept in the OP. When you throw in “concerns”, you’re completely changing the grammatical structure and making “health and safety” an adjective phrase modifying the plural subject “concerns”. > [@Wheelz](#): > > I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that I’m overthinking it. People will understand what I’m saying and it’s therefore probably fine the way it is. > I’m not vying for a Pulitzer here. You’re not overthinking it. Your original sentence is correct. Personally I might have said “The health and safety of all of us is paramount” but that’s a stylistic choice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-rewrite-this-sentence/917607.md?page=2)