Need some grammar help

[Ame Yuki Kaze]

Which would be the correct saying?

"What symptoms is he displaying?"

or

"What symptoms are he displaying?"

Thank you, one and all!  

[shouldbedeleted23]

I think it would be "What symptoms is he displaying.  

[Zealot of Insanity]

I'm not quite sure, but I seem to be more comfortable with the "What symptoms is he displaying?" quote.  

[DarkElf27]

'Is' is for a single subject. 'Are' is for multiple. Therefore "What symptoms are he displaying." should be correct. However, I agree, it does sound awkward. ('Awkward' also looks screwy, but I checked: It is spelled correctly.)  

[~GirlxPride~]

If I think about it, "What symptoms is he showing?" would be correct because it's not the symptoms that are showing, it's he that's showing the symptoms. So you would say "What symptoms is he showing?" for subject-verb agreement.  

[DarkElf27]

Well that is the question, isn't it? Are the symptoms the subject, or the person?

Perhaps it could be better stated: "What are the symptoms he's showing?" It sounds right that way, and I believe is grammatically correct.  

[Ame Yuki Kaze]

That sounds nice! Thank you much DarkElf!  

[The Frog...]

It is definitely 'What symptoms is he displaying?' The subject is 'he' and 'he is diplaying what?' Not 'he are displaying what?'

*I consulted the English scholars in my house and they agree.

3nodding  

[Myriane]

I'd have to agree with the "is" because the "are" sounds just wrong and my "ear" is attuned to those easily made mistakes... (Yes, I do make them sometime but I try not to; it is more easy when I reread myself...)  

[snitchseeker5000]

I agree. The correct one would be, "What symptoms is he displaying?" If you turn it around into a declarative sentence it would be, "He is displaying what symptoms," which is correct. Thus, one should use "is."  

[Zealot of Insanity]

Despite my previous post, I yield to DarkElf and his literature analysis. 3nodding  

[Shrocomemos]

I agree. Is.

 

[Thalestris]

Ask yourself what the subject of the sentence is. It's not the symptoms. Re-organize it.

He ___ displaying what symptoms?

Is would be the correct word. smile  

[Dark Master Pineapple]

The second one, since there are the noun 'symptoms' is plural.  

[That Scene Chick]

Myriane

I'd have to agree with the "is" because the "are" sounds just wrong and my "ear" is attuned to those easily made mistakes... (Yes, I do make them sometime but I try not to; it is more easy when I reread myself...)

I'm sorry, but your post wasn't quite up to grammatical par.
It should be "sometimes" instead of "sometime" and although it's gramatically correct to say "more easy" I would suggest you say "easier".

Yes, my english teacher is a slave driver.
She-literally-hits me for those mistakes.
That's the only reason I know.