my favorite animal is dogs

[bmo]

correct sentence(s)?

1. my favorite animal is dogs.
2. my favorite animals are dogs.
3. my favorite animal is dog.

thanks.

[Rusty]

correct sentence(s)?

1. my favorite animal is dogs.
2. my favorite animals are dogs.
3. my favorite animal is dog.

thanks.

1. my favorite animal is dogs. (No).
2. my favorite animals are dogs. (OK).
3. my favorite animal is dog. (No).
My favorite animal is the dog. (Correct).

[ponpoco256]

Hi Rusty

I've an additional question about this problem. Dogs are my favorite animals. Dogs are my favorite animal.Is the second ungrammatical?

ponpoco

[Rusty]

Hi Rusty

I've an additional question about this problem. Dogs are my favorite animals. Dogs are my favorite animal.Is the second ungrammatical?

ponpoco

Both sentences sound right to me. I'm not real sure if it is grammatically correct, but it's common. I wonder if Pete has an explanation.
Other examples that sound right:
Roses are my favorite flower.
The rose is my favorite flower.
Roses are my favorite flowers.

[Pete]

Hi Rusty

I've an additional question about this problem. Dogs are my favorite animals. Dogs are my favorite animal.Is the second ungrammatical?

ponpoco

Both sentences sound right to me. I'm not real sure if it is grammatically correct, but it's common. I wonder if Pete has an explanation.
Other examples that sound right:
Roses are my favorite flower.
The rose is my favorite flower.
Roses are my favorite flowers.
I agree; these sound fine. While there is an important grammar rule that the verb must agree with the subject ("was" or "s" form of a [present verb with 3rd person singular subject), there is no "rule" that a predicate nominative agree with the subject. (Although there is no rule, logic often dictates that when aubject is singular, so is the complement.)

When the subject has a different number than the complement, be sure to make the verb agree with the subject; that rule does not change.

[ponpoco256]

I agree; these sound fine. While there is an important grammar rule that the verb must agree with the subject ("was" or "s" form of a [present verb with 3rd person singular subject), there is no "rule" that a predicate nominative agree with the subject. (Although there is no rule, logic often dictates that when aubject is singular, so is the complement.)
Rusty and Pete.

Thank you for your kind reply. I think now I almost got the English concept of 'single' and 'plural' in using countable nouns. But I've still another question in relation with this problem. You say "Elephants have long trunks" and I feel this is logically sound because each elephant has a long trunk (that means, one elephant has a long trunk and two elephants have two trunks etc). However I sometimes found a sentence like "Elephants have a long trunk". This kind of sentence is almost always followed by a clause or sentence that explains about the trunk in details. I am wondering if the writers would use intentionally this kind of numerically imbalanced subject-object relation in order to focus readers' attention upon the object. Am I right?

ponpoco