Should I use "is" or "are" in this sentence?

Question

I am writing a sentence like this:

The context is about repairing keys.

It will let you know what keys are working properly and what are not.

However, Grammarly asks me to replace the second are with is, given the reason that the verb are does not agree with the subject.

But when I wrote are, I think it refers to keys.

Is there anything I'm wrong?

Thanks!

I’m voting to close this question because it's not our job to debug software grammar checkers — FumbleFingers, Commented Jan 12, 2023 at 12:53
...but it may be that grammarly is programmed to assume what is always singular (which is obviously not true, as your example clearly demonstrates! ). The cited text is "reduced" from ...what keys are working properly and what keys are not working properly. — FumbleFingers, Commented Jan 12, 2023 at 12:55
And this is a good example of why English grammar checkers are not very good. — stangdon, Commented Jan 12, 2023 at 12:57
I think if it hadn't mentioned grammarly at all a question like this might well get closed as "Too basic / Lacks Research" anyway. Why would anyone think What keys is working properly? might be a valid choice of verb, if it weren't for grammarly? — FumbleFingers, Commented Jan 12, 2023 at 13:04

swmcdonnell · Accepted Answer · 2023-01-12 13:31:54Z

2

Grammarly is wrong. However, you should probably use which instead of what (and maybe you'll get a different suggestion from Grammarly):

It will let you know which keys are working properly and which are not.

answered Jan 12, 2023 at 13:31

swmcdonnell

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