[Grammar] the most rational of decisions has or have

Status
Not open for further replies.

hhs010120

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2015
Member Type
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
Hello, Teachers
Please help me out.
In the next sentence, are the underlined of and have okay?
[FONT=&#47569]
Even the most rational of decisions typically have an important emotional component, and many emotionally motivated decisions are quite reasonable. [/FONT]

Thanks inadvance
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
'of' is OK'; 'have' should be 'has'. 'The most rational of decisions' is a single decision.
 

GoesStation

No Longer With Us
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I think "the most rational of decisions" can be singular or plural. Several decisions can be equally rational and can all rank as the most rational.
 

andrewg927

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2017
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I quite agree with GoesStation.

I am not a teacher.
 

Tdol

Editor, UsingEnglish.com
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
From the title of the thread, I went for the singular, but from the sentence, I agree with GoesStation that it could refer to a single decision or a bunch of them. The wider context would determine that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top