First things first is a quirky idiomatic usage whereby speaker affirms that he intends to start a discussion / meeting by talking about the most urgent (not necessarily most. This is one of the things which are really important to her. Is it grammatically correct to say high standards are a very good thing?
Why is the reply they are fine considered to be incorrect being grammatically correct? 4) most of the people in this country/province/area are rich? Things are pretty good now, things are pretty bad now, how are things?, things have been pretty difficult for me lately etc.
When i think about it, the second sentence seems correct because 'things' and 'are' are both plural and so in. 3) most people in this country/province/area are rich? Or should it necessarily be ‘things’?