Is it "is", is it "are", what's your take on this?
This is a question for the linguists and academics out there. Please forgive the long introduction. I have been thinking about this all day long.
This morning I decided to deliberately go out on a limb by posting an answer to Issabella's "Palabra del Día" game.
My post reflects one of my chronic doubts regarding English construction, so I thought long and hard before posting.
I wrote:
"Lo mejor del Cine de Arte son sus butacas de lujo.
The best feature of the Arts Cinema is the luxury chairs."
I was promptly corrected by one dear member who "never makes mistakes", and was delighted that I (who never make any mistakes either 
) had finally tripped.
She said that the correct form is: "The best feature of the Arts Cinema are the luxury chairs."
I was ready to accept this judgment, but wanted to know why this is so. Interestingly, the replies under the comment area were inconclusive. At least two persons said that it was correct the way I wrote it. Others seem to agree with the correction.
Now, my reasoning is that "to be" here refers to "The Feature", and since "feature" is singular, I should say "the best feature is". But then "to be" is followed by a plural noun "luxury chairs" - which is why one also expects that the phrase should be: "are the luxury chairs."
The funny thing is that I didn't have to think twice about it in Spanish, and in Spanish the verb is indeed plural son las butacas " (are the chairs").
So... I would really appreciate it if anyone could come forth with an authoritative, definite explanation as to which form is correct, and why. Come to think of it, I don't know why the verb is plural in Spanish, since the same reasoning applies...
Thanks!
32 Answers
The correct verb is is. The subject is feature. In English, the subject precedes the verb, with only a few exceptions (and the example sentence is NOT such an exception). Click here for examples of when English inverts the usual subject-verb order.
In practice, as bomberapolac said, native English speakers will make the verb agree with the complement if there are several phrases separating the actual subject from the verb. However, this would get you red marks from your grammar teacher on a paper...it is actually an error that native speakers make frequently...but it is very understandable.
So, in conversational English, if the subject is separated from the verb by a few prepositional phrases or other clauses, it can go either way. In fact, even this sentence could be said both ways by native speakers naturally. However, in formal situations (a written report for a boss, for example), especially for such a simple sentence, making such an error should be avoided if possible.
So, in English, it is...
the feature is the chairs, but the chairs are the feature.
My question is: why are you so certain that chairs is the subject in Spanish? Why cannot feature be the subject in Spanish (as Spanish does NOT care which side of the verb the subject is on)?
The best feature of the Arts Cinema is the luxury chairs.
You were right the first time. The subject is "the best feature", which is singular.
If you were to use "the luxury chairs" as the subject, it would be: "The luxury chairs are the best feature of the Arts Cinema."
Let's see what a real authority says about it ( "Practical English Usage" by Michael Swan) - subsection "Singular subject, plural complement:" In English a verb normally agrees with the subject of a sentence, not with a following complement: The biggest timewaster is meetings (not: The biggest timewaster are meetings) Another example: A serious problem in our garden is wasps (not: A serious problem.. are wasps) [The author continues:] However, if the subject is a long way from the verb, people sometimes make the verb agree with a complement: The most interesting thing on radio and television last weekend, without any doubt, was/were the tennis championships. This often happens, too, when the subject is a relative what-clause, especially when the complement is long: What I am most interested in is/are your immediate personal reactions.
So, Gekkosan, for my liking, was right from the very beginning (as always 
)
English, as defined by the grammarians is quite clear on the number and person of the verb which is governed ONLY by the subject. In the case of the chairs I agree whole-heartedly with Jack-OBrien; let's change the sentence round so we don't get in a muddle.
As an avid reader, I note that this particular mistake occurs in books very frequently where there is a descriptive phrase or clause separating the subject from its verb. If I write, "As far as the Arts Cinema isconcerned, the best feature is the chairs." I belive that this also helps to clarify why the feature "is".
Typed the phrase into a grammar check and what came back for subject/verb agreement is...
The best feature of the Arts Cinema is the luxury chairs. As feature is the singular subject of the sentence, use singular verb.
The best features of the Arts Cinema are the luxury chairs. As features is the plural subject of the sentence, use plural verb.
I think the best features of the "Arts Cinema are the Exits! 
Just jumped into this thread. Am I understanding it correctly? The verb must agree in number with the sentence subject.
The conflict here is what is the subject of the sentence. In English we would say The best feature is the subject of the sentence and in Spanish the arm chairs is taken to be the subject of the sentence.
Of course, this confusion is because English uses SVO where Spanish uses SVO and VSO, VOS, etc.
Great topic.
So is the conclusion that in both Spanish and English the number of the verb agrees with the subject, but since the subject is seen differently between the two languages the verb number will differ between the English and Spanish sentence?
To restate it differently.
In English we have predicate nominatives. What is to the left of the linking verb is the sentence subject and what is to the right of the linking verb in the renaming of the subject or predicate nominative.
This doesn't exist in Spanish. They can say what is on the right of the linking verb is the subject and what is on the left of the verb is the predicate nominative, because their syntax is less rigid than English's.
I think the question was answered when the first English speaker stated what his English eye saw as the sentence's subject and when Heidita mentioned what her Spanish eye saw as the sentence's subject. As long as you see different subjects (in number) you are going to see different verbs (in number).
So ask Heidita how she would state the English sentence and see if she uses a singular or plural verb? In Spanish, if she sees arm chairs as the subject she will use a plural verb. (Her English if probably better than most of ours).
"Lo mejor del Cine de Arte son sus butacas de lujo. (Correcto. En español, el verbo tiene que coincidir con el objetivo - butacas).
The best feature of the Arts Cinema is the luxury chairs." (Correct. In English the verb must coincide with the subject - feature).
Ok... So rather to my surprise, it appears that my initial reasoning was correct - although it appears that this is one issue that defies intuition!
So let's stir things up just a tad more:
A few of the contributors argue that the answer is plain if we write the sentence backwards: "The chairs are the best feature of the Arts Cinema" I would say that this looks perfectly clear, and I agree.
However, evidence now seems to support the fact that "The best feature of the Arts Cinema is the chairs" is correct - also.
Final opinions: are both of these constructions correct? Is it fundamentally a matter of the relative positions of Verb - Subject - and Object in the sentence?
Just saying....
A bad mistake, due to Spanish influence of course. In Spanish it would have been the other way round.
Lucky for me my students don't look at the answer section. I insist so often on the S+P+O rule that that should have been the clue
You cannot have a subject after the verb in affirmative sentences, horrible mistake, I am hiding in the bin...
You are correct, "The best feature of the Arts Cinema is the luxury chairs"
In English, the subject comes before the verb (with a few exceptions).
If feature precedes the verb, then feature is the subject. If chairs precedes the verb, then chairs is the subject.
Examples:
The best feature is the luxury chairs. (correct)
The luxury chairs are the best feature. (correct)
The best feature are the luxury chairs. (incorrect)
The luxury chairs is the best feature. (incorrect)
Being that the best feature is the subject and is a singular noun, the verb should be singular as well. It would be wrong to say 'The best feature are'.....right?
Of course, as Jack O'Brien says, if you reverse the sentence and say 'The chairs are the best feature' then it makes sense to use 'are', BUT only if you reverse the sentence.
The best feature of the Arts Cinema is the luxury chairs.
This has to do with Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb of a sentence must agree with the subject in number and in person.
since you are talking about the best feature (singular) the proper choice would be 'is.'
The best feature of the Arts Cinema are the luxury chairs
That was me, yipeeeee, true I am the one, never make mistakes, typos...
jeje
Well, the subject is "the luxury chairs."
The chairs are the best feature.....
Let's see what others who don't make mistakes either have to say
