'DRUGS' IS AN ISSUE TO READER

Helen Impson of Wynnewood noticed what appeared to be a grammatical
goof in a column by a writer whom she admires. A sentence read, "There
is drugs."

"I consider the word 'drugs' to be plural, which would require the
verb 'are,'" Helen wrote. "Please comment for us."

Miss Prunella Pincenez would decree that the proper verb is "are."
After all, the word "drugs" is clearly plural, and plural subjects
require plural verbs.

Helen didn't submit the sentence in context, so it's difficult for
Buck to judge whether the writer went badly astray.

Buck can be persuaded that, in certain contexts, notional agreement
would excuse the use of a singular verb with a plural noun. Let us say
that the writer is talking about issues in sports.

"There is illegal recruiting," she might write. "There is failure to
meet academic standards. And there is drugs." In this sequence, the
writer is thinking about drugs not as a number of concoctions, such as
steroids, "ecstasy" or cocaine, but as a single issue confronting
athletics. In such instances, the writer has to decide whether to
follow strict grammatical rules or to bow toward the intended meaning.

Buck would probably let the "is" slide in a story crafted by a skilled
writer. In his own writing, he probably would follow the grammatical
rule, or would rephrase: "... and drugs also enter the picture."

"I like cards, craps and roulette," Luther Huckabuck said, "but cards
is my favorite game."

Bubba wouldn't fault his grammar, though he would question his wisdom
in saying that in front of Hortense.