Page 184 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

■ Any car that you see is for sale.

A nonrestrictive clause explains something about the subject but doesn’t
wholly define it.

■ The book, which I had borrowed from the library, landed in a puddle.
■ The coat, which I found at a thrift store, kept me warm all winter.

When using which in a nonrestrictive clause, it is usually part of a phrase that
is set off from the rest of the sentence by commas or other punctuation.

17.18 There Is versus There Are

A common mistake in English involves a compound noun of two singular nouns

and the expletive use of there (see section 10.12, Weather It, Expletive It, and

the Dummy Subject). For many speakers, their intuition tells them to use a
singular subject even though the subject is plural. This mistake is even more
common when there is part of a contraction, which has become idiomatic usage.

■ Informal: There is a book and a bell.
■ Informal: There’s a book and a bell.

■ Best Choice: There are a book and a bell.

17.19 Well versus Good

When asked, “How are you?” a common myth is that well is the better choice of

these two words because it is clearly an adverb. However, in this case, well is
actually an adjective that goes with the linking verb is in the question. (In other

cases, well can be an adverb.) That means that good, also an adjective, would be
a perfectly fine response if it weren’t for those people who don’t know the

history of English and would criticize you for your correct usage. Use either well
or good and send them to me if you get into trouble.