[Grammar] More than one house was/were

More than one house was gutted in the fire.

Is 'was' correct because the verb has to agree with the singular subject 'one house' rather than the quantifier, 'more'?

Thank you! :-D

www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/218082-More-than-one-person
Some members there were trying to explain why 'more than one (subject)' is singular.

Matthew Wai said:

Some members there were trying to explain why 'more than one (subject)' is singular.

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I don't think it was explained at all though. I'd say tedmc was right.

Raymott said:

I'd say tedmc was right.

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Do you mean the following?

tedmc said:

This is arbitrary, defies logic and is an exception to the rule.

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Yes, and his other comments. Mike's explanation doesn't work for me. It seems to be a mere assertion that that is what we say. "More than one person" is obviously two or more persons, and one would expect that to take a plural verb. It doesn't. The reason hasn't been explained. I suspect it's because 'person' is singular and this is an exception based on what sounds best.

Crosspost

As I said in the old thread there, 'more than one is at least two' is a mathematical problem rather than a grammatical one.
Can that be an explanation?

Raymott said:

Mike's explanation doesn't work for me.

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I wish he would appear and further explain.

No, it's not a mathematical problem. Number is an integral component of grammar.

Be careful what you wish for!

'More than' is a modifier of 'one house/person', and the verb should agree with the noun rather than its modifier.
Can that be an explanation?

Raymott said:

Be careful what you wish for!

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What's wrong with my wish?

I also agree that Tedmc is correct in that it defies logic. Logically, it should be 'were', not 'was'. The verb should agree with the entire subject noun phrase.

I've discussed this particular language point a few times before. My suspicion is that this is an example of the powerful effect of collocation on our native ears. We hear ...one person were... and our ears simply can't accept it -- even though it is 'grammatically correct' -- because the sound pattern of those words just seems so unfamiliar.

In speech, patterns of grammar and logic play second fiddle to patterns of rhythm and cadence.