My favourite type of movies is/are comedy/comedies? (2025)

Hello,

first of all I hope ot os of to place this thread under "type".

I would like to understand which sentence(s) is/are correct:

a) My favourite type of movies is comedy
b) My favourite type of movies is comedies
c) My favourite type of movies are comedies?
d) My favourite type of movies are comedy?

In my opinion, because "type" is the gramatical subject and since this is singular, I would use the singular verb "is". However, native speakers seem to prefer the plural verb "are" (they don't make a gramatical agreement but a logical one - favourite movies are)

In my language, we would say a), but I often seen that some rule do not match (e.g. We say "the majority of people is" but I think in English it is required to say "the majority of people are" -??).

Look forward to hearing your opinions/responses/analysis.

Sandra

How about using the definite article "the" before "comedy." When talking about your favourite pet would not the following sentence be a suitable choice?

"My favourite pet is the dog."

The definite article is used before a singular noun to represent the whole class. When a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class to which it belongs, it is used with the definite article “the.” This means the category of animal you prefer. The dog is man’s best friend. “The dog” suggests dog as a species or group. When we use the definite article to talk about animal species,
it is slightly more formal or scientific-sounding; you will hear it on TV programes about animals, and read it in books. “The dog” is kind of scientific as it refers to the species. In a history book, it works fine: “For thousands upon thousands of years the closest and most beloved companion of Homo sapiens has been the dog.”
Could the same idea apply to a sentence on your favourite type of film, film genre?

"My favourite type of film is the comedy."

I do see similar examples on the internet.
My favorite type of movie is the documentary.
My favorite type of movie is the slasher film.
One of my favorite type of movie is the zombie comedy.

I would love to hear your take on this. What difference does the definite article make when comparing the following two sentences:
My favourite type of film is the comedy.
My favourite type of film is comedy.

I know... why not just say "I like comedies" and we have a "case closed." Still... I would like to focus on the two examples in bold above and get your take on using the definite article or not using it. (Imagine you are an ESL student. Would you prefer using the definite article when taking an exam at school and writing about your favourite kind of film?)

THANK YOU in advance!

90iknerf said:

I know... why not just say "I like comedies" and we have a "case closed."

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This version is certainly common when people answer a question about what kind of movie they like.

90iknerf said:

Still... I would like to focus on the two examples in bold above and get your take on using the definite article or not using it.

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If I used one of the answers that you supplied, I would probably use the version without an article before comedy. Despite the sentences that you found on the internet, the comedy sounds a little strange to me in your example.

owlman5 said:

the comedy sounds a little strange to me in your example.

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I tend to agree with you. But I cannot say why I tend to agree with you. As far as I can tell, there is nothing strange about saying "My favourite pet is the dog," actually that is my preferred version if I used "my favourite pet..." (Definitely NOT "dogs" as in "My favourite pet is dogs.")

So why do we like "My favourite type of film is

comedy?"

90iknerf said:

So why do we like "My favourite type of film is

the

comedy?"

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It sounds a little more likely to me than the comedy does in that sentence. Where did I get that idea? Probably from listening to what other native English speakers say when they talk about the movies that they like.

90iknerf said:

[...] As far as I can tell, there is nothing strange about saying "My favourite pet is the dog," actually that is my preferred version if I used "my favourite pet..." (Definitely NOT "dogs" as in "My favourite pet is dogs.") [...]

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Neither sounds natural to me. I'd probably say "My favorite pet is a cat," which could imply either "my current cat, Whiskers" or "any generic cat," depending on context.

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts on this.

So the definite article "the" should not be used in a sentence like "My favourite type of film is the comedy."

More natural sounding version: "My favourite type of film is comedy."

natkretep said:

That's also why this is more acceptable than 'the cat' or 'the dog'.

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The cat or the dog is a species. Why is it less acceptable to say "My favourite pet is the dog"?

“my favourite type of film is action films” — this sounds fine to me

“my favourite type of films are action films” — this also sounds OK to me

“my favourite type of film is an action film” — this doesn’t sound natural to me