In conversation, beef is a complaint or a grudge: my only beef with the flat is the noise. Have beef with someone means having a problem or a conflict with them. There's also a verb, beef about, meaning to grumble. It's informal; in writing, use complaint or problem.
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a beef with someone or something; my main beef is; beef about something
- My only beef with the apartment is the noise from the lift.
- I have no beef with the volunteers; they followed the instructions they were given.
- He kept beefing about the queue instead of helping us find another entrance.
What changed
First versionMy main beef with the contract are the hidden fees.
RevisionMy main beef with the contract is the hidden fees.
Hidden fees is plural, and it pulls the verb into the plural: are. But the verb agrees with the subject, my main beef, which is one complaint: my main beef is the hidden fees. What comes after the verb doesn't change that.
Complaint is the neutral word, fine for a formal letter. Beef is the same, but casual and with irritation. Have beef with someone is about a conflict with a person: no beef with them means no problem with them.
Your turn
Choose the verb that agrees with the singular complaint: My main beef with the contract ___ the unclear cancellation rule.
Show the answer
is — You need is: my main beef is one main complaint. With the contract doesn't make the subject plural.
Name one small complaint about a thing or a plan, as if talking to a friend. Use my only beef with and explain what's inconvenient.
My only beef with the timetable is the long gap between the morning sessions.
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