Please, see example sentence:
One of the main attractions of Dahab are the unique on-the-ground restaurants.
The underlined plural (are), is that correct in the sentence? Why/why not? I think it's incorrect, but I want to be sure. The reason I think it's wrong is because of the "One of...." in the sentence.
Thanks for any help and insight you can provide. I want to crack this nut! I've been thinking about this one for the past hour!
Heni
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Heni,
(1) Both Moderator Barb and Teacher Fivejedon have given us
excellent advice: the best thing is to revise your sentence.
(2)
BUT, yes, I believe that there
is a rule that some native
speakers follow.
(a) This is what the authors of
Writing with a Purpose (Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1980) write:
The complement [the unique on-the-ground restaurants]
of the
verb to be does NOT affect the number [singular or plural]
of the
verb.
(i) Thus, if your teacher wants you to follow the "rule," then the
"correct" answer is:
One [the subject] of the main attractions of Dahab
is the unique on-
the-ground restaurants.
(ii) Here are two examples from that book:
Her chief
source of enjoyment
is books.
One
thing you must be ready for
is their attempts to break up the
meeting.
Remember: The authors (Professors McCrimmon, Miller, and Salmon) agree
that if a sentence sounds "awkward" [not natural], it is better to rewrite it.
(3) There is a famous grammar book called
A Comprehensive Grammar
of the English Language (New York: Longman, 1985). It is followed
by many teachers. In that book, Professors Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and
Svartvik say that many times both verbs (
is or
are) are "correct." Here
are their examples:
My only
hope is/are my children.
More nurses
is/are the next item on the agenda.
(4) Something very interesting. Your sentence sounds "awkward" with
is. But I think that I read somewhere that the shorter the sentence
the more acceptable it is to native speakers. So
maybe (!!!) some
native speakers would accept:
One of Dahab's main attractions is the unique on-the-ground
restaurants.
(5)
Bottom line:
(a) As the moderator and the teacher both said: your sentence should
be revised.
(b) If you want a rule (for example, when you take a test at
school), then follow the rule that I cited above:
to be agrees with
the subject:
My favorite
fruit is cherries.
Cherries are my favorite fruit.
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
