Subject verb agreement

Question

On a family text thread that included a photo of some trees in a snowy yard, my daughter asked "How much of those trees out the window IS buried?" I suggested — because we are nerds — that it should be "How much of those trees out the window ARE buried?" A small debate ensued with some saying the subject is "much" which is singular and others that the subject is "trees" which is plural. We are puzzled. Any expert advice?

Answer 1

To get to the bottom of this family debate, it is important to first understand the type of word "much" is. Much is considered a quantifier, something that goes in front of a noun to show an amount or number. For this reason, "much" is not the subject, it is quantifying an aspect of the trees, which are the actual subjects of the sentence. Since "those trees" is a plural phrase, the verb should be "are" and not "is".

Answer 2

I agree with Alice. The subject of the sentence is "much." It takes a singular verb.

Answer 3

You can say either how much of those trees is buried or how many of those trees are buried. The first alludes to how far up the tree (the distance in the singular) is under snow or earth, and in the second to the quantity of trees, which are in the plural.