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I am confused by the maxim All that glitters is not gold.

May I know why the word is is used there?

In my known according the English grammar glitters is plural, So after plural we add verb+s.

As in above example use auxiliary verb so why not are – why is?

rogermue
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Chinmay235
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    This is similar to my question last year, http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/74072/when-all-you-hear-is-fear-and-lies. There are good answers in there. – Damkerng T. Nov 28 '13 at 12:40

2 Answers2

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Good question, but it's worth pointing out that glitters in this context is a verb, not a noun. The subject of the sentence is all.

When all is used as the subject of a sentence, it functions as a pronoun, and it can function as a singular or a plural pronoun. From NOAD:

all (pronoun) [with clause ] the only thing (used for emphasis) : all I want is to be left alone.

(used to refer to surroundings or a situation in general) everything : all was well | it was all very strange.

So:

All that glitters is not gold

is roughly equivalent to

Everything that glitters is not gold

and the verb tense agrees.

but:

All who eat are not gluttons

is roughly equivalent to:

All the people who eat are not gluttons

so there is no problem there, either.

J.R.
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Grammatically is is used with third person singular and also s form of verb is used. "All" indicates a third person single group.

sajad
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