One of the + that + plural verb

[hardik.jadeja]

Is there a general rule for the usage of such a structure?
Or does it depend on the context?

Eg. (Which are the correct options?)
1) pistachio is one of the few flavors that appeals to me.
- pistachio is one of the few flavors that appeal to me.

2) A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control
- A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control

I was looking over the internet for some explanation and all i found is this link(https://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/oneofthe.html), which recommends singular verb but also says that usage experts are all over the place on this subject and you’re not likely to get into much trouble by using the plural.

I want to know which one is preferred by GMAT?

During my SC practice, i have observed that "One of the + that + plural verb" is often the correct option.

[goelmohit2002]

IMO over here similar concept as of SANAM rules as suggested by Manhattan apply.

IMO both the following are correct:

1. Pistachio is one of the few "flavors" that "appeal" to me.
2. Pistachio is one of the "flavor" that "appeals" to me.

I think it depends on the "object" case after "of".

Flavors -> Appeal.
Flavor -> Appeals.

Thanks
Mohit

[hardik.jadeja]

Mohit,

I don't think "one of the flavor" is a correct usage..
As far as i know "one of the" is always followed by a plural noun.

So the correct usage will always be "one of the flavors".

Basically we are talking about one single thing in particular out of many similar things. so it will always be "one of the flavors".

experts please comment!!!!!

[scoobydooby]

refer to following for the brilliant post by mals24

In all "one of the X that ...." constructions, verb should agree with X.

e.g. one of the factors that are......

In all "one of the X..." (without a relative pronoun that, who etc), verb should be singular.

e.g. one of my friends is.....

https://www.beatthegmat.com/one-of-the-s ... html#98113

[maihuna]

simple rule is find out "that" refers to what?

[hardik.jadeja]

mals24 wrote:

In sentences with the construction 'one of the x relative pronoun', the subject of the verb is a relative pronoun. Hence care should be taken to see that the verb agrees with the antecedent of the relative pronoun.

I'll give you some examples:

This is one of the most interesting novels that "have" appeared this year.
The antecedent of that is novels, not one.
Explanation: There have been many interesting novels that have appeared this year. So 'that' refers to novels. This one is just one of them.

This is the only one of his poems that "is" worth reading.
The antecedent of that is one, not poems.
Its quite simple. There is only one novel that is reading. All novels are not worth reading. Hence 'that' modifies one. Since the sentence specifically says "only one".

So basically in these cases you have to see whether the antecedent of the relative pronoun is singular or plural. Its ok to follow the rule I stated in the previous post, but just be careful when you see 'only one'.

Source: High School English Grammar, Wren & Martin (Pg 218, point number 136).

by this rule following option should be the correct one.

"A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control."

but in fact this one is the correct one.

"A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control."

https://www.beatthegmat.com/pl-explain-t19475.html

@maihuna: thats where I am struggling.

[hardik.jadeja]

This is an interesting question... I would like to know what experts think about this?

As you mentioned,
To put it another way, the sentence is saying that there are many factors (plural) that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control. Then it's also identifying one thing that is just one of those factors. But "one" is not the word that's being modified by "that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control."

Karen, i am still confusing.
"one of the factors that---does "that" always have to modify the right before one "factors"?

then is this the wrong sentence?

Tom is one of the soccer players who scores a goal.
(There are several soccer players and Tom is the only one who scores.)

Tom is one of the scooer players who score a goal.
(There are several soccer players who score a goal and Tom is one of them.)

I thought we can use WHO in these both ways.

If so, how can we sure about that modifies 'factors' but not "one"?

please explain. Thanks a lot.

[scoobydooby]

"the" before only can make a difference


1) This is the only one of his poems that "is" worth reading

=> of all the poems, only one is worth reading-singular

2) A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control

=>"the is missing"...the antecedent is not the "one". antecedent of that is factors=plural.
sentence means: high rate only one of the factors, there are others besides this.

=>if it were: A higher interest rate is the only one of the factors that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control
antecedent: one-singular.
sentence means: high interest rate is the only factor, no other factor


3) Tom is one of the soccer players who score a goal
antecedent of who: players=plural, it should be score

4) Tom is the only one of the soccer players who scores a goal
antecedent of who: one=singular. Only Tom scores a goal

@hj, you can pm one of the experts

[dgr8onerip]

pista is one of the flavours that appeal/s to me

here the subject is pista, one of the flavours describes the word pista
some ppl say that flavours is the main subject but remove a word from the sentence and if it still makes sense then that word is not the main subject to which the verb agrees

one of the flavours that appeal to me- this makes no sense
pista appeals to me- makes sense

hence, we must use PISTA IS ONE OF THE FLAVOURS THAT APPEALS TO ME

same thing applies to the next sentence

[scoobydooby]

dgr8, no denying that pista is the subject of the sentence.

the form is : pista is X (X: one of the flavors......)
pista agrees with "is" ..no sweat. it is the X part that creates the confusion.

X part is a clause with a subject and verb of its own. subject-verb agreement for this clause is being debated upon

subject: flavors/one
verb: appeal/appeals

[mals24]

"the" before only can make a difference


1) This is the only one of his poems that "is" worth reading

=> of all the poems, only one is worth reading-singular

2) A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control

=>"the is missing"...the antecedent is not the "one". antecedent of that is factors=plural.
sentence means: high rate only one of the factors, there are others besides this.

=>if it were: A higher interest rate is the only one of the factors that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control
antecedent: one-singular.
sentence means: high interest rate is the only factor, no other factor


3) Tom is one of the soccer players who score a goal
antecedent of who: players=plural, it should be score

4) Tom is the only one of the soccer players who scores a goal
antecedent of who: one=singular. Only Tom scores a goal

@hj, you can pm one of the experts

I have a few things to say. First, thank you scoobydooby for appreciating my previous post.
Second, you make a very valid point in this post. 'The' makes all the difference.

This is the only one of his poems that "is" worth reading.
The antecedent of that is one, not poems.
Its quite simple. There is only one novel that is reading. All novels are not worth reading. Hence 'that' modifies one. Since the sentence specifically says "only one".

Now you obviously have to use some logic while doing SC questions to see if the meaning makes sense. Now in the example I posted (which is from a very reliable source), as scoobydoo mentioned, use of 'the' before only one differentiates this one poem from the rest of the poems, there by making it the only one to be worth reading. Hence we are talking about only ONE specific poem, hence making the verb singular.

However if we say: This poem is only one of the poems worth reading.
That means, in addition to this one poem, there are other poems that are worth reading. So we are talking about a number of poems, hence making the verb PLURAL.

So in the question you've posted hardik,
- A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, is fine and hence the correct option.
You can thus rephrase the sentence into: There are other factors, in addition to higher interest rates, that bla bla.

[mals24]

mals24 wrote:

In sentences with the construction 'one of the x relative pronoun', the subject of the verb is a relative pronoun. Hence care should be taken to see that the verb agrees with the antecedent of the relative pronoun.

I'll give you some examples:

This is one of the most interesting novels that "have" appeared this year.
The antecedent of that is novels, not one.
Explanation: There have been many interesting novels that have appeared this year. So 'that' refers to novels. This one is just one of them.

This is the only one of his poems that "is" worth reading.
The antecedent of that is one, not poems.
Its quite simple. There is only one novel that is reading. All novels are not worth reading. Hence 'that' modifies one. Since the sentence specifically says "only one".

So basically in these cases you have to see whether the antecedent of the relative pronoun is singular or plural. Its ok to follow the rule I stated in the previous post, but just be careful when you see 'only one'.

Source: High School English Grammar, Wren & Martin (Pg 218, point number 136).

by this rule following option should be the correct one.

"A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control."

but in fact this one is the correct one.

"A higher interest rate is only one of the factors that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control."

https://www.beatthegmat.com/pl-explain-t19475.html

@maihuna: thats where I am struggling.

Now hardik again coming back to you , if you use the logic I used in the bold portion of my explanation, the correct answer would have been the 2nd option. I apologize for not explaining this point very clearly in the previous post. I have hence edited the previous post to make things more clear.

[hardik.jadeja]

@mals24:
Thanks for the explanation. I really appreciate it. I am clear about what form of verb to use when 'the' is present before "one of".

But if 'the' is not present in the sentence then what? For example..

Tom is one of the soccer players who scores goals.
(There are several soccer players and Tom is the only one who scores.)

Tom is one of the soccer players who score goals.
(There are several soccer players who score goals and Tom is one of them.)

Yes, they have different meanings but I think both these sentences are grammatically correct. So I believe when we encounter two choices, which are both grammatically correct, it all boils down to 'the meaning' of the sentence.

In the following sentence, which option would you pick?

Tom is one of the soccer players who scores goals consistent.
A) Tom is one of the soccer players who scores goals consistent.
B) Tom is one of the soccer players who scores goals consistently.
C) Tom is one of the soccer players who score goals consistently.
D) Tom is one of the soccer player who scores goals consistently.
E) Tom is one of the soccer player who score goals consistently.

If we pick C, we are changing the meaning of the sentence. Am I correct?

I guess, I am thinking too much on this one topic..

[mals24]

Tom is one of the soccer players who scores goals.
(There are several soccer players and Tom is the only one??? who scores.)
How did you figure that out.
Tom is one of the soccer players who score goals.
(There are several soccer players who score goals and Tom is one of them.)

I dont think they have 2 different meanings. They both mean the same that Tom is just one of the soccer players who score goals.

In the following sentence, which option would you pick?

Tom is one of the soccer players who scores goals consistent.
A) Tom is one of the soccer players who scores goals consistent.
B) Tom is one of the soccer players who scores goals consistently.
C) Tom is one of the soccer players who score goals consistently.
D) Tom is one of the soccer player who scores goals consistently.
E) Tom is one of the soccer player who score goals consistently.

If we pick C, we are changing the meaning of the sentence. Am I correct?

I guess, I am thinking too much on this one topic..

Yes yes yes your thinking way too much on this topic.
The good news is in the actual GMAT you'll have atleast 2 reasons to strike out an option. So if your not sure if it should be 'score' or 'scores' you can look for other grammatical errors. So relax and don't worry. Its not the end of the world my friend.

And btw in the question above I'd go for option C.