"Je pense que les réseaux sociaux sont très utiles."
Translation:I think social media is very useful.
35 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
2016
Isn't 'media' plural? Shouldn't the verb be 'are'? Maybe I'm being pedantic but 'are' should definitely be a possible solution.
- 1914
It rejected "I think social media are very useful". That is a gross error. Reported 13 July 2020.
Exactly the comment I was going to post. But Duolingo has obviously not paid attention to this and similar comments. "Is" is acceptable in informal usage, but "are" should also be accepted.
Sorry, team, but: Media are plural. Medium is singular. Having said that, 'social media' has become a collective singular, so it's not actively wrong to say 'social media is ...' But it is definitely wrong to suggest the plural version is unacceptable. In technical matters, the language is evolving very fast, and usage is flexible.
I believe that both 'is' and 'are' are possible in English, although 'are' is the correct because media is the plural of 'medium', just as 'stadia' is the plural of 'stadium'. Unfortunately, they only accept 'is' which is actually the 'wrong' verb to use with a plural. Of course, both should be accepted given the contemporary usage in English.
I agree that 90% of Americans say "the media is." But in a language course, one should use correct language.
I think it depends somewhat of the situation. "The media is" can be correct, when one is talking about "the media" as a singular object, for instance as the business sector "the media". But in this exercise, it is clearly plural.
This is correct language.
It's called a collective noun, for anyone who wants to learn.
- 774
6-11-2020, social media ARE very useful is till not accepted. Duolingo should listen to the speakers of English varieties other than American English - I believe in Australia and in UK "the media are" is totally acceptable if not the correct answer recognised by traditional prescriptivist grammaticians.
This is so wrong! The word 'media' is plural (the plural of 'medium'), therefore it should be 'social media ARE useful'. I realise not everybody uses correct English, but it should at least be accepted as an alternative, not marked wrong!
“Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots” - Umberto Eco
- 1327
I like Eco's novels and writing on semiotics, but he sure is a snooty snob. Of course, he never won a Nobel Prize, so why are we even talking about him?
- 1224
I don't undertstand ; social media is uncountable or countable
we use ; is or are ?
we use; before ( the / a ) or not ?
I agree with Simon below. Duo is flat wrong! The noun "media" can be, and in this case clearly is, plural
- 1327
Of course. Any modern person, including linguists, use media as singular or plural. We don't really have to follow ancient Latin rules in modern communication.I
https://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/media_singular_or_plural.htm
- 953
I would like to tell the 'report' that I think that 'I think social media are very useful' and 'I think the social media are very useful' should be accepted but am unable to get the 'report' to respond.