# It is you who make/makes it tough"



## Teena83

Hola amigos... Me pregunto cual será la forma correcta de expresar la oración que escribí arriba.
Debo conjugar el verbo para "you" o para "who"?

Porque en español sería "Sos vos el que *hace* las cosas más difíciles", pero en inglés no sé cuál es la forma correcta y creo haberlo visto de las dos formas.

¿Me ayudan? ¡Muchas gracias!


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## andreasol

Hola, 

since "who" is third person singular one would think that "makes" is the correct conjugation, but in this frase, *It is you who make it tough, *who functions as a temporary subject for you. 

I think I would re-frase making you as the real subject: You are the one making things though/difficult.

saludos


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## squirrellin

Debes conjugar el verbo para who: o sea, it is you who makes it tough.
Hope it helps!!


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## squirrellin

Another option: It is you the one who makes it tough. In that case, I'm positive you can use it.


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## squirrellin

It`s me again!! I've been searching and both ways are possible. It's such a mess! Hope somebody else helps!!


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## Teena83

well, now i am confused, andreasol says that the correct form of the verb in this sentence is make, and squirrellin says it´s makes. And i searched in google and I found both of them...


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## FromPA

I have never heard the second person used in this type of construction, but I have learned a lot of new things I had never known about English in this forum.


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## VivaReggaeton88

En inglés es natural decir "You're the one who is making things harder". Significa la misma cosa que la frase que has puesto vos. Ésta es la mejor opción.


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## Teena83

VivaReggaeton88 said:


> En inglés es natural decir "You're the one who is making things harder". Significa la misma cosa que la frase que has puesto vos. Ésta es la mejor opción.


 
Muchas gracias, pero en realidad mi pregunta es cuál sería la correcta conjugación después de who cuando el sujeto es otra persona...


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## VivaReggaeton88

Teena83 said:


> Muchas gracias, pero en realidad mi pregunta es cuál sería la correcta conjugación después de who cuando el sujeto es otra persona...



It is you who *makes* it tough. =]


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## flazalde

andreasol said:


> Hola,
> 
> since "who" is third person singular one would think that "makes" is the correct conjugation, but in this frase, *It is you who make it tough, *who functions as a temporary subject for you.
> 
> I think I would re-frase making you as the real subject: You are the one making things though/difficult.
> 
> saludos


 
I would say "you" is the subject and "who make it tough" is the predicate


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## flazalde

flazalde said:


> I would say "you" is the subject and "who make it tough" is the predicate


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## mhp

aztlaniano said:


> El sujeto es "it". It make*s* it tough. It (is you who) make*s* it tough.



It is true that the subject of the sentense is 'it'. But the verb is 'to be', not 'make'. The subject of the relative clause is 'who'.

It is you who makes it tough. (quien, el que) (Eres tú el que lo hace difícil)
It is they who make it tough. (quienes, los que) (Son ellos los que lo hacen difícil)


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## aztlaniano

mhp said:


> It is true that the subject of the sentence is 'it'. But the verb is 'to be', not 'make'. The subject of the relative clause is 'who'.


 Sí, tienes razón, mhb.


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## paloma blanca

If the sentence is reversed, maybe it is clearer.The one who makes it tough is YOU.Then, It is you who makes it tough. I am agree with mhp that the subject is "IT".


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## Bocha

Hola:

A quote from Quirk-Greenbaum's Grammar

In cleft sentences a relative pronoun subject is usually followed by a verb in agreement with its antecedent:

_It is I who *am* to blame._ (Soy yo el que *tengo* la culpa)

But 3rd person concord prevails (in informal English) where the objective case pronoun _me_ is used:

_It's me who*'s* to blame._ (Soy yo el que *tiene* la culpa)


En castellano son posibles las dos pero se "prefiere" que el verbo vaya en tercera persona:

_Sos vos el que hace las cosas difíciles.
Sos vos el que hacés las cosas difíciles._

DPD concordancia 4.13

Curiosamente el ejemplo elegido es ambiguo:

_It's you who makes things difficult.
It's you who makes the difficult things._


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## carazp

It is you who makes it tough. (quien, el que) (Eres tú el que lo hace difícil)
It is they who make it tough. (quienes, los que) (Son ellos los que lo hacen difícil) 

mhp, tengo una pregunta, porque en el  primer caso pones s en make y en el segundo no?? you y they no llevan s en la construccion verbal. anyway my english level is intermediate, you'll be right but I don't understand it, please try to explain it to me, thank you


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## mhp

carazp said:


> It is you who makes it tough. (quien, el que) (Eres tú el que lo hace difícil)
> It is they who make it tough. (quienes, los que) (Son ellos los que lo hacen difícil)
> 
> mhp, tengo una pregunta, porque en el  primer caso pones s en make y en el segundo no?? you y they no llevan s en la construccion verbal. anyway my english level is intermediate, you'll be right but I don't understand it, please try to explain it to me, thank you


    After reading Bocha’s example “It is I who am to blame”, I have to backtrack and say that in a cleft-sentence the traditional rule of the grammar requires concordance not with the grammatical subject, but rather with the focal element. Nonetheless, "it is you who _is_ late, not _me_" sounds much more natural to me than "it is you who _are_ late, not _I_."


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## Ynez

_It is you who makes things difficult._

The subject of the verb "makes" is "who", and another way to see it would be to think of:

It is you the *person* who make*s* things difficult.


Then, in

_It is they/them who make things difficult._

The subject is still "who", but it is representing

It is them/they the person*s*/*people* who ma*ke* things difficult.


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## SevenDays

Hello:
 
I think we need to clarify.
 
_It is you who makes things difficult_.
 
The subject of the sentence is not “it,” as was stated in previous posts.  “It is” (and “there is,” “there are”) are known as “expletives” and serve no grammatical purpose other than simply get the sentence started.  They also signal that the* true* subject is to follow.  In this case, the true subject is the relative clause “_who makes things difficult.” _To find the _simple_ subject, we follow the normal path: find the verb and ask “who/what” before it.  In this case, ironically, “who” answers the question _who makes things difficult_?  Who, then, is the simple subject (as Ynez already mentioned).  _You_, in this case, in an appositive of _who_. In other words, _you_ renames _who_.
 
Who can be singular or plural, depending on context (as Ynez explained).
 
It is you who _makes_ things difficult (you are addressing one person).
It is you who _make_ things difficult (you are addressing more than one person.)  It is the same as saying:
It is (_all of you_) who _make_ things difficult.
To avoid ambiguity, I would add _all of you _if who is plural.  
 
Some grammarians object to “it is” constructions, especially in formal writing.  Sometimes, however, “it is” puts additional emphasis on the subject of the sentence.  Ultimately, it is up to the writer.
In any event, this is my perspective.
 
Cheers


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## Forero

In sentence A, I would only say _make_, not _makes_:

A. _I only want to say this to one person: to you who always make it so tough to say anything._ [you who make]

In sentences B and C, on the other hand, I would only say _makes_, not _make_:

B. _You are the one who makes it tough._ [one who makes]
C. _The person who makes it tough is you._ [person who makes]

And in sentence D, I much prefer _make_ to _makes:_

D. _It is you who make it tough._ [You make it tough.]

But, uninvert the sentence and only _makes_ fits:

D'. _Who makes it tough is you._

A cleft sentence does not have to be interpreted as an inverted sentence though.  Se puede decir en ambas formas.  Porque la frase castellana puede invertirse ("El que *hace* las cosas más difíciles sos vos."), creo que _makes_ sería la mejor traducción.

E is not a possible sentence, with _make_ or with _makes_:

E. *_It is you the one who makes it tough._*

I accept both of the "blame" sentences, though I would prefer the first in a formal context: 

_It is I who *am* to blame._ (Soy yo el que *tengo* la culpa)
_It's me who*'s* to blame._ (Soy yo el que *tiene* la culpa)

The following sentence I might use in a formal context, but I know of no informal equivalent:

_I who speak to you am he._ [Yo quien te hablo soy él.]


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## zumac

I don't think you need an exhaustive analysis of the grammar of the sentence.

The choice of using make or makes simply boils down to what SevenDays said:

It is you who *makes* things difficult (you are addressing one person).
It is you who *make* things difficult (you are addressing more than one person).

The choice is as simple as that.

Saludos.


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## minnkidd

This is a tough question.  Because of the split subject, neither sounds quite correct.  Assuming "you" is singular, my instinct would be to say "It is you who make*s* things tough," but the plural doesn't sound completely wrong to me.  But I also know that in the progressive I would say "It is you who *are* making things tough," and never "It is you who is making things tough."  

We could test the point with the following analogous construction:  

"It is I who am making things tough." 
or 
"It is I who is making things tough."  

I would never say the latter; it sounds completely wrong to me, which suggests that in the original example the correct form must agree with the second-person pronoun, not with "it."  But I still can't give you a good grammatical explanation as to why.


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## mhp

zumac said:


> I don't think you need an exhaustive analysis of the grammar of the sentence.
> 
> The choice of using make or makes simply boils down to what SevenDays said:
> 
> It is you who *makes* things difficult (you are addressing one person).
> It is you who *make* things difficult (you are addressing more than one person).
> 
> The choice is as simple as that.
> 
> Saludos.



That was my initial answer too. But the situation is a bit more complicated. In fact, the correct sentence according to the traditional rules of grammar is: It is you who make things difficult, when addressing a single person.


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## Bocha

Hola:

A thread in English Only dealing with the same structure.


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## tracerbullet

En mi opinión, hay solo dos opciones: 

"You're the one who's making things difficult!" <---durante un problema o una situación pasajero
"You're the one who always makes things difficult!" <----se refiere a una característica de la persona, algo habitual (un hecho que se destaca por el uso de "always")

En ambos casos, el verbo "to make" se conjuga en tercera persona (is making, makes) porque se refiere a "the one who", igual que "el que" en español. Al otro lado, el primer verbo "to be" se conjuga en segunda persona (are) porque se refiere a "you"...

No te preocupes por la conjugación de "It is you who make/s things difficult" porque en realidad suena fatal. Las dos opciones arriba son mucho más comúnes y también suenan mucho más naturales.


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## mhp

tracerbullet said:


> igual que "el que" en español.


I suggest you read the link that was referenced by Bocha in message 16.


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## tracerbullet

mhp said:


> I suggest you read the link that was referenced by Bocha in message 16.


It's not technically correct in either language, but as you mentioned, it certainly sounds much more natural in both. Such strict concordance, in English at least, will usually come off as too formal, like you're reading from Shakespeare or the King James Bible.


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## SevenDays

Hello
Interesting English Only thread.  If they couldn’t reach a consensus, we are in trouble.
 
This is precisely why some grammarians argue passionately that cleft sentences and pseudo-cleft sentences should be avoided like the plague, especially in formal writing.  Unless it is absolutely clear what you mean, eliminate constructions such as it is” (or “there is,” “there are”) from your writing and the subject and verb will reveal themselves clearly in the new sentence or phrase:
 
I make things tough.
She makes things tough.
Etc.
 
Cheers


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## tracerbullet

SevenDays said:


> Hello
> Interesting English Only thread.  If they couldn’t reach a consensus, we are in trouble.
> 
> This is precisely why some grammarians argue passionately that cleft sentences and pseudo-cleft sentences should be avoided like the plague, especially in formal writing.  Unless it is absolutely clear what you mean, eliminate constructions such as it is” (or “there is,” “there are”) from your writing and the subject and verb will reveal themselves clearly in the new sentence or phrase:
> 
> I make things tough.
> She makes things tough.
> Etc.
> 
> Cheers



I agree when the subject is a dummy pronoun, as in the examples you gave. But in the case of this thread, making "you" the subject of a cleft sentence isolates it and shines a spotlight on it, just as the speaker is calling "you" out as the real person to blame in the situation. To remove the cleft sentence from this example would be to rob it of all its impact.


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## SevenDays

tracerbullet said:


> I agree when the subject is a dummy pronoun, as in the examples you gave. But in the case of this thread, making "you" the subject of a cleft sentence isolates it and shines a spotlight on it, just as the speaker is calling "you" out as the real person to blame in the situation. To remove the cleft sentence from this example would be to rob it of all its impact.


 
I don't think we are in disagreement.  If the meaning is absolutely clear, then it is not only ok but often preferable to keep the cleft sentence for impact -- as you rightly and correctly point out. 
Cheers


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## Ynez

mhp said:


> I suggest you read the link that was referenced by Bocha in message 16.



mhp, that thread is even more confusing that ours, which is already confusing enough...


EDIT: Sorry, I noticed now you meant a link to DPD. I thought you were referring to the English Only thread.
Is there any problem in Spanish with this? It doesn't seem so.


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## Ynez

From Michael Swan's "Practical English Usage":



> In an informal style, a relative clause usually has a third-person verb even if the subject of the main clause is _I_ or _you_.
> 
> It's *me that is* responsible for the organization.
> *You're* the one *that knows* where to go.
> 
> In a very formal style, a first or second person verb is possible after _I who_ or _you who_.
> 
> It is *I who am* responsible for the organization. (Or: It is *you who are*...)



My edition is old. I'll try to remember and check a newer edition some day.

These types of book try to be "practical", explaining what is commonly said, and not theoretical grammar ideas (Quirk is more into the latter).


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## k-in-sc

The bottom line is that there is a lack of agreement on this awkward construction and it is best avoided, as we native speakers do naturally.


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## mhp

Ynez said:


> Is there any problem in Spanish with this? It doesn't seem so.


    I’m surprised you think it is simple in Spanish, but not in English: 

  Soy yo el que tengo la culpa (opción habitual en el habla coloquial)
  Soy yo el que tiene la culpa (opción mayoritaria en el habla culta)


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## Ynez

mhp said:


> I’m surprised you think it is simple in Spanish, but not in English:
> 
> Soy yo el que tengo la culpa (opción habitual en el habla coloquial)
> Soy yo el que tiene la culpa (opción mayoritaria en el habla culta)



People talk a lot about "culto" or not in Spanish, included DPD, but really, most times it is just regional or personal styles. Maybe it would be more adequate to distinguish "written" and "spoken", or "formal" and "informal".


In this particular example with "tengo/tiene", I just feel "tiene" is more normal, but I wouldn't see "tengo" as "inculto" (I'll believe you if you tell me DPD says "tiene" is the "educated" form...but I don't agree with that definition).


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## mhp

Ynez said:


> ... but I wouldn't see "tengo" as "inculto" ...



When you say something is used in colloquial speech, it doesn't mean it is uneducated speech--at least, not to me. In English, the situation is reversed, 'it's me who's to blame' is the colloquial version. 'It is I who am to blame' sounds more formal. As many have pointed out, a different wording can also be used.


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## Ynez

mhp, cuando el DPD define una opción como "culta", da a entender que las demás opciones son "incultas". "El habla coloquial" sí me parece una buena manera de definir ciertos usos.

Eso quizás estaba bien cuando el DPD estaba pensado sobre todo para aleccionar a hispanohablantes sobre cómo hablar: nosotros ya sabemos realmente qué decimos, y si queremos hablar según la RAE, pues ahí está su sugerencia. Pero viendo que muchos extranjeros usan el DPD, yo creo que esa terminología de "culto" causa mucha confusión.


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## Forero

No creo que "_Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos_" suene menos culto que "_Our Father which art in heaven_." 

_You who insist on making things tough for yourself can make trouble for the rest of us too._ [Sería incorrecta esta frase con _insists_. No importa que  es _yourself_, singular, y no _yourselves_, plural.]

El sujeto de la frase castellana queda _vos_, no importa el orden:

1. _El que lo hace difícil sos vos. 
_2. _Vos sos el que lo hace difícil. 
_3. _Sos vos el que lo hace difícil.
_
Pero en inglés cambian el sujeto y su verbo:

1. _Who makes it tough is you.
_o _The one who makes it tough is__ you.
_o _The person who makes it tough is you._

2. _You are the one who makes it tough.
_
3. _It is you that makes it tough._ [_It_ representa "(the one) that makes it tough" que traduce "el que lo hace difícil".]
o _It is you who make it tough. _[V. "You make it tough" y "you who insist"]

Se ve que las frases "cleft" son algo raro (Corríjanme el castellano, por favor):

_ It is you the person who makes things tough._ ["Who makes things tough is you the person."]
Sos vos la persona el que hace difíciles las cosas.

_It is you who is making things tough for himself._ ["Who is making things tough for himself is you."]
Sos vos el que se hace difíciles las cosas.

_It is you who make things hard for yourself._ [V. "You make things hard for yourself" y "you who insist"]
Sos vos que os hacés difíciles las cosas.

_The person is you who makes it tough.
_La persona sos vos que lo hace difícil.

- No sé quién lo hace difícil.
- Sos vos quién lo hace difícil.
_It is you that is making it hard._
o _It is you who are making it hard._

- No sé quiénes lo hacen difícil.
- Son ustedes quiénes lo hacen difícil.
_- It is you who are making it hard.

_


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