Job Discussion Forums

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hi there!

I usually don't have many questions related to grammar, but this one has me a little stumped.

a) He is one of the students, who was praised.

b) He is one of the students, who were praised.

My gut instinct is to go with choice 'a' since he/one ... was.

However, one of my students has an English teacher who told him that choice 'b' is the correct answer. i.e., Does the relative pronoun 'who' change the subject from 'he' to 'students'? If so, answer 'b' would or could indeed be correct.

Cut to the chase: Are both 'a' and 'b' correct, i.e., open to interpretation, or is there only one correct answer, from a strict grammatical perspective?

I appreciate your input!

[Shroob]

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hello Shroob:

Thanks for jumping in there!

Yeah, this one looked like it could go both ways but I assumed there was a grammar rule of some kind, that would make one choice better than the other.

Thanks again for your reply.

[Sashadroogie]

Depends who was praised, maybe. Just that one guy, or the whole group of students...

[Sashadroogie]

Hard to tell with the comma. And the vodka breakfast...

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

привет Sasha !

Good point. This was apparently a test question, and without any additional context, it's hard to say, although my take on the sentence, as is, is that more than one student was praised, which would support Shroob's opinion that 'were' is correct.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

By the way, Ваше здоровье!

[Sashadroogie]

'He is one of the students who was praised' would be correct, though, wouldn't it? No comma, and sounds more natural to me, at least. The 'students' would be the object of the preposition, and not function as the subject verb 'was praised'. A little like 'he is one who was praised'.

Need more vodka to get this straight in my mind though... hic hic!

[Sashadroogie]

Where's Fluffy when you need him?!!

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Excellent point. Does the comma actually change the grammatical structure of the sentence? As I mentioned in my original post, my gut instinct was answer 'a' - but after thinking about it for a few hours, and letting it roll off my tongue both ways, I found myself less than convinced. Well, I'm glad it's not just me!

[johnslat]

Dear Kent,


a) He is one of the students, who was praised.

In this sentence, since the verb "was" in the non- restrictive adjective clause is singular, the "who" can refer only to that "one" student. But since the clause is non-restrictive, it's not possible to know whether any other students were also praised.
If there were no comma, making it a restrictive clause, then the reader would know that all the students referred to were praised.

b) He is one of the students, who were praised.

In this sentence, thanks to the plural "were," the clause indicates to the reader that the "who" must refer to "students," that all the students were praised.

Regards,
John

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Ola John!

If I'm following what you wrote above, 'a' and 'b' could both be correct, depending on your interpretation of whether one, or all of the students were praised. However, the teacher in question told her students that only 'b' is correct. Is the teacher right, or would both sentences be correct?

[sager]

"a) He is one of the students, who was praised."

"b) He is one of the students, who were praised."


I would say only "b" is correct and the comma is unnecessary. Had something similar way back at High School. This was the example:

"Than is one of those few words which have only one meaning."

sager

[johnslat]

Dear Kent,

This is one of those grammar questions that have/has two possible answers

"One of those [plural noun] that is/are …

"One is one and all alone and ever more shall be so," goes the old Christmas song, but the fact that the singular one needs a singular verb can lead to confusion. In a recently published collection of language columns by William Safire, No Uncertain Terms, he wrote the following sentence (page 336):

"Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one of those phrases that sounds as if it comes out of Kipling.

The sentence caused considerable stir (as such things go), for the verb "sounds" should really relate to the plural "phrases," not the singular "one." The sentence should probably read (underlining things for our purpose):

"Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one of those phrases that sound as if they came out of Kipling.

The rare device for figuring out which verb to use in this construction is as follows: turn the sentence inside out:

Of those phrases that sound as if they came out of Kipling, "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one.

In this situation, the subject of the subordinate clause — usually a who or a that — will refer to the plural noun in the preceding prepositional phrase (not the one before it) and require a plural verb to follow.

There is a possible exception, however. In Burchfield's New Fowlers*, we find this example:

"Don't you think," said Bernard, "that Hawaii is one of those places that was always better in the past." (from David Lodge, 1991; my underline)

Burchfield adds, "A plural verb in the subordinate clause is recommended unless particular attention is being drawn to the uniqueness, individuality, etc., of the one in the opening clause." In an earlier note, Burchfield writes: "Exceptions [to the rule that we use the plural verb] occur when the writer or speaker presumably regards one as governing the verb in the subordinate clause," and he gives another two or three examples, including "I am one of those people who wants others to do what I think they should."

*The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996. Used with the permission of Oxford University Press. p. 551."

So, as usual, it ALL depends on context - and on a test, there's usually no or not enough context.

My verdict: bad question, either answer possible (though one is more likely.)

Regards,
John

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Dear John:

Thank you for your thorough and detailed reply.

I had a hunch that this was not a simple 'one size fits all' example. I agree with you: an awful sentence to put on an exam. I'm going to print out all of the replies in this thread for my student to read. I think he'll enjoy it, especially the vodka breakfast part =)

Thanks again to everyone for your input!

Kent