Can WHO take a plural verb?

[ana2005]

Hello, teachers
I have been told that WHO as subject of a clause takes a singular verb but, what happens if the answer is plural? I mean, would the following be correct?

Who are travelling by train? Peter and Jill.
or should I say:

Who is travelling by train? Peter and Jill.

Thanks a lot

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by ana2005

Hello, teachers
I have been told that WHO as subject of a clause takes a singular verb but, what happens if the answer is plural? I mean, would the following be correct?

Who are travelling by train? Peter and Jill.
or should I say:

Who is travelling by train? Peter and Jill.

Thanks a lot

We always [almost always ??] use a singular verb in cases like this, Ana. What the answer is has no bearing on how to pose the question for in real life the answer is unknown before a question is asked.

When the question includes a reference to a plural, then we use a plural verb.

Who are the people going to ... ?

Check this Google exact search page for some more exmples.

"who are" - Google Search

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by ana2005

Hello, teachers
I have been told that WHO as subject of a clause takes a singular verb but, what happens if the answer is plural? I mean, would the following be correct?

Who are travelling by train? Peter and Jill.
or should I say:

Who is travelling by train? Peter and Jill.

Thanks a lot

The answer to your question depends on what the speker knows or believes. If the speaker is just asking a general question with no knowledge, the singular use of "who" and a singular verb would be correct and common.

If however, your sentence followed this statement:

"Twenty people are coming, some by car and some by train",

it would be quite natural to use the plural "who" followed by a plural verb. Some would still use the singular, however.

[ana2005]

Thank you very much, MikeNewYork and Riverkid. You have been most helpful

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by ana2005

Thank you very much, MikeNewYork and Riverkid. You have been most helpful

You're welcome.