SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

The verb of a sentence must agree with the simple subject of the sentence in number and
person. Number refers to whether a word is singular (child, account, city, I) or plural
(children, accounts, cities, we). Person refers to whether the word denotes a speaker (I, we are first
person), the person spoken to (you is second person), or what is spoken of
(he, she, it, they; Gary, college, taxes are third person).

Third person singular

Choosing verbs to agree with first and second person subjects is not usually much of a problem, but a
peculiarity of third person singular verbs causes some students, especially ESL students, some
confusion when working with third person singular subjects.

It matters whether a subject in the third person is singular or plural because the verb form for third
person singular often differs from other verb forms. For most third person singular verbs, add an s to
the root form of the verb: sit + s = sits, the third person singular form. (Be careful-while an s on a
noun usually denotes a plural, an s on a verb does not make the verb plural.) Examples of how the
verb form changes in third person singular follow; notice that even irregular helping verbs ( to have, to
be, to do) add an s -- has, is, was, does -- in third person singular:
Third person singular (he - she - it) Third person plural (they)
sits sit
is sitting are sitting
was sitting were sitting
has sat have sat
has been sitting have been sitting
does not sit do not sit
doesn't sit don't sit
Thus, Olivia sits, Phong sits, the college president sits in her office, and the remote control sits on the
table. When Olivia and Phong get together, however, they sit; the college trustees sit.

Only the simple subject

The verb must agree with its simple subject -- not with the description or explanation of the subject;
ignore the descriptions and explanations. If the simple subject is singular, use the singular form of the
verb. If the simple subject is plural, use the plural form of the verb. (For more about subjects, see the
TIP Sheet Parts of Sentences: Subject, Verb, Object, Complement. For tips on how to use
prepositional phrases to help identify the subject, see Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases.)

The pink and red flowers in the tall vase have wilted.
The old table that my parents gave us needs a coat of paint.
The back wheels of the car you borrowed are wobbling.

The verb must agree with its simple subject -- not with the subject complement. The subject and its
complement are not always both singular or both plural. Even if one is singular and the other plural,
the verb agrees with the subject:

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His only hobby is his pigeons.
Her parents are her sole support.

Compound subjects
A compound subject joined by and is plural and takes a plural verb form:

Olivia and Phong are looking for the remote control. (They are looking.)

The verb for compound subjects joined by or or by (n)either...(n)or agrees with the subject nearer to
the verb:

Olivia or Phong has the responsibility to make the video presentation. (He has.)
Neither Phong nor Olivia knows if the board will be pleased. (She knows.)
The college president or the trustees interview all the candidates. (They interview.)
The trustees or the president often asks for a second interview. (He or she asks.)

Relative clauses
Relative clauses begin with the relative pronouns who, that, or which and contain a verb separate
from that of the independent clause. The verb in a relative clause agrees in person and number to the
word -- the person or thing -- to which the relative pronoun refers:

Most instructors appreciate students who ask good questions.

The student who asks a lot of questions is a valuable asset to a class.
The logic class, which is known to be difficult, nevertheless attracts a certain type of student.
The classes, which are held in the fall, usually fill up fast.

Verb preceding the subject

In questions, the subject follows the verb, but the subject still determines the person and number of
the verb:

Where in the house are the medicines kept? (They are kept.)
Why doesn't the soup have any noodles? (It does have.)
Under which tree do the mushrooms grow? (They do grow.)

In sentences that begin with a construction such as here is or there are, the subject follows the verb
but still determines the person and number of the verb:

Here is the famous flea circus. (It is here.)

Here are the famous fleas. (They are here.)
There is a mouse in the attic. (It is there.)
There are mice in the attic. (They are there.)

Indefinite pronoun subjects

Some indefinite pronouns are always singular, and some are always plural. (Some can go either way;
for more on indefinite pronouns, see the TIP Sheets Pronouns and Pronoun Reference, or see a
writers' guide such as SF Writer.)

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Some indefinite pronouns are always singular no matter how much you feel that words
like everyone are plural. They require the third person singular verb form:

Nobody knows her.

Has anyone asked?
Everyone says so.
Each gets a ticket.
One uses a hammer.
Another has arrived.

Other indefinite pronouns are always plural and require a plural verb form:

Several work here.

Many have done it.
Few believe it.
Both were yellow.

CONSISTENT VERB TENSE

Verbs express a particular action (throw) or state of being (was). In addition, verbs help express who
or what performs the action (person), how many people or things perform the action (number), the
speaker's attitude toward or relation to the action (mood), and whether the subject is the giver or
receiver of the action (voice). Perhaps the most obvious characteristic of verbs, however, is how the
verb tenses express time.

Different verb forms are used in combination to express when actions occur. The simple present, past,
and future tenses simply place events in time. The perfect tenses (they occur with have, has, and had)
express events or actions completed; the progressive tenses (-ing verbs used together with helpers
such as is, was, and were) show actions or events that are continuing.

Intentional shifting of verb tense

A statement such as the following intentionally mixes verb tenses:

I had decided to add Anthropology 11 when I discovered it already had filled up and the
instructor would not be accepting any more students.

The mixed verb tenses here are intended to convey in what order things happened, what actions are
completed, and what actions are continuing. The class had filled and the speaker had decided (both
actions completed in the past) before he or she discovered the class was full. And the instructor is at
present turning away students and will continue to turn them away for the foreseeable future.

In the following example, a statement about past actions is followed by a statement of a general
truth:

I had decided to add Anthropology 11 when I discovered it already had filled up; it is unwise to
wait until the last minute to add a required class.

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Generalities and truisms like this (it is unwise to wait) are expressed in the simple present tense, even
if they are imbedded in a statement written in a past tense.

Unintentional shifting of verb tense

Clearly, intentionally shifting verb tenses can convey a great deal of information. However, when verb
tenses shift for no good reason, meaning becomes garbled. In general, avoid unnecessary changes in
verb tense. This is a particular problem in personal narratives, where it is common to see something
like this:

I was undecided about my major when I was a freshman. I wanted to study journalism but
I like art, too. I find that sketching is relaxing and helped reduce stress, while journalism was a
high-energy, often stressful class.

The verb shifts are unnecessary and make it more difficult for the reader to follow. Here is the
statement revised to a consistent past tense:

I was undecided about my major when I was a freshman. I wanted to study journalism but
I liked art, too. I found that sketching was relaxing and helped reduce stress, while
journalism was a high-energy, often stressful class.

In personal narratives, you may choose to use either past or present tense verbs. Just do not mix
them as this writer did:

He turns the key in the ignition, but only heard the relentless, useless chugging of an engine
unwilling to turn over. He glanced left, then right. He cannot see the approaching train through the
driving rain, but he could hear it, a low moaning wail still distant enough that he thought he still
might be able to save the car.

Revised to a consistent past tense, this story is more coherent:

He turned the key in the ignition, but only heard the relentless, useless chugging of an engine
unwilling to turn over. He glanced left, then right. He couldn't see the approaching train through
the driving rain, but he could hear it, a low moaning wail still distant enough that he thought he still
might be able to save the car.

In this case, however, you might be more successful in recreating the suspense of the moment by
keeping to a consistent present tense:

He turns the key in the ignition, only to hear the relentless, useless chugging of an engine unwilling
to turn over. He glances left, then right. He cannot see the approaching train through the driving
rain, but he can hear it, a low moaning wail still distant enough that he thinks he still might be able
to save the car.

The literary present tense

For discussing literary works, the preferred tense is the present:

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Author Michael Crichton frequently addresses bioethical questions of this sort. His Jurassic
Park character Ian Malcolm is a kind of devil's advocate, a doomed protagonist who asks the unasked
question: "We can--but should we?"

This statement includes one about the author and his intentions or techniques, and another about a
character in one of his books; both are constructed in the literary present tense. Use literary present
tense for book and article reviews, summaries, and critiques.

Critiques of musical performances, art shows or other artistic works also may use the literary present
tense.

OTHER PHRASES: VERBAL, APPOSITIVE, ABSOLUTE

A phrase is a group of words that lacks a subject, a predicate (verb), or both. The English language is
full of them: under his supervision, apple trees in blossom, having completed the soccer season. You
are probably familiar with prepositional phrases--they begin with prepositions, end with nouns (or
pronouns), and they describe, or modify, a particular word in the sentence: along the Yahi Trail, above
Salmon Hole. (For more, see the TIP Sheet "Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases.") But other kinds
of phrases also enrich the English language: verbal, appositive, and absolute phrases.

1. Verbals are verb look-alikes.

A verbal looks like a verb but does not act like a verb. In the following sentences, verbals are used as
something other than verbs:

Climbing El Capitan was out of the question. (Noun and subject of the sentence)
The applauding crowd rose to its feet. (Adjective)
I despise frozen peas. (Adjective)
He intends to study agricultural science. (Noun and direct object).

There are three kinds of verbals:

 Gerunds (-ing forms that function as nouns)

 Participles (present or past participle verb forms that function as adjectives)
 Infinitives (the root form of a verb preceded by to; it can function as a noun, adjective, or adverb)
Gerund phrases are nouns.
A gerund is an -ing verb form that actually functions as a noun. Any -ing verb used in the predicate
(part of the verb) of a sentence must be accompanied by a helper verb such as is, was, or has been; a
gerund lacks this helper. As a result, a gerund can never function as a verb, but it can do anything
another noun can do. For example, the following gerund phrase is the subject of a sentence:

Backpacking in Little Yosemite Valley was unforgettable.

This one-word gerund is the direct object of an action verb:

Tom explained rappelling as we clambered up Half Dome.

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Gerunds can be predicate nominatives after linking verbs (careful! The verb of the sentence below
is was, not was stumbling. The adventure was not, itself, stumbling! The favorite adventure was our
act of stumbling.):

Our favorite adventure was stumbling upon Frog Pond deep in the forest.

The following gerund phrase is the object of a preposition:

We worried about being swept away over the waterfall as we swam.

Participial phrases are adjectives.

Participial verbals--words or phrases--are adjectives. They look like present participle (-ing) or past
participle (-ed or -en) verb forms. A past participle verb used in the predicate of a sentence must be
accompanied by a helper verb such as has, had, or have; participles or participial phrases functioning
as adjectives lack this helper. The following participial phrase describes the noun bear:

Grunting and snuffling noisily, the bear reached on tiptoe for our suspended food bags.

Above, suspended is a past participle form functioning as an adjective.

Below, frozen and making introduce participial phrases:

Frozen in anticipation, our muffled breath making scarcely a sound, we watched the bear ascend
the tree toward the ropes.

Frozen in anticipation modifies the pronoun we. Making scarcely a sound, on the other hand,
modifies breath. Muffled is a participial adjective also describing breath.

Infinitive phrases are nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

An infinitive is the root, or simple, form of a verb preceded by to: to expect, to enroll, to have thought.
(Because to is a common preposition, infinitives are often mistaken for prepositional phrases, which
they are not. For more information, see TIP Sheet "Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases.") Infinitives
are easy to recognize, with their to + verb pattern. They can play many roles in a sentence--noun,
adjective, or adverb.

In the following examples, infinitive phrases are used as nouns--in this case subject and direct object,
respectively:

To watch the bear toss our things around was distressing.

We tried to signal our friends on Half Dome with a text message, but failed.

On the other hand, the following infinitive phrase is used as an adjective to modify plans:

Our plans to continue on to Tuolumne Meadows changed suddenly once we lost our food supplies.

The following infinitive is an adverb phrase modifying the verb will use (adverbs answer the
questions when, where, how, and why):

Next time, to prevent the loss of our food cache, we will use bear canisters instead.

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(Note: Some verbs require an infinitive [claim to know] and some require a gerund [avoid stating].
And some verbs differ dramatically in meaning if you switch from gerund to infinitive [ stop
smoking, stop to smoke]).

2. Appositive phrases are nouns.

An appositive is a noun phrase that renames or restates the preceding noun or pronoun:

An overpowering fragrance, apple trees in blossom, drifted through the open window.

Appositive phrases are almost always punctuated as parenthetical elements of a sentence set off by
commas. An exception is a one-word appositive, where commas are unnecessary:

My brother Joseph reads six or seven blogs a day.

3. Absolute phrases modify absolutely everything.

Unlike other modifiers, absolute phrases do not modify a particular word in a sentence; rather, they
modify the entire sentence--setting the scene or background overall, so to speak. An absolute phrase
typically consists of a noun (or pronoun) and a participle (see "Participial phrases," above): umbrellas
tossing in the wind, his hopes dashed at last. In the following examples, notice that the absolute
phrases cannot logically be said to modify any particular word of the main clause:

Umbrellas tossing in the wind, the students at the bus stop huddled under the scant shelter of the
elms.
Rodrigo unhappily prepared to vacate and sell his dream home, his hopes for a reconciliation
dashed at last.

Like appositives, absolute phrases are set off from the rest of the sentence by commas.

PRONOUN REFERENCE

Pronouns are indispensable; they replace nouns in our conversation and writing, keeping us from
saying things like this:

My instructor arrived late to class. My instructor claimed that the child care center opened late and
that was why my instructor, in turn, was late; however, a classmate said that the classmate saw the
instructor at the coffee bar at 8:00, and that the instructor greeted the classmate as the instructor
strolled toward the classroom.

Clearly, a few he's and she's would help this narrative. Of course, if both the instructor and the
classmate are females, we might end up with some confusion. Unclear pronoun reference, along with
a mismatch between the pronoun and its referent (or antecedent, the word the pronoun is intended to
replace), are issues that frequently cause students trouble. Avoid most pronoun reference problems by
following these rules:

Make pronouns agree in person and number with their antecedents.

Make pronouns gender-neutral when possible.

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Make pronouns refer unambiguously to their intended referents.
Make sure the pronoun referent actually appears nearby.

1. Agreement in person and number

Pronouns must match the person and number of the words they replace. (Pronouns must, in addition,
match case. Case refers to whether a pronoun is a subject [I know this!] or object [Tell me more.] in a
sentence. Choosing the correct case is not a big problem for native speakers of English, who usually
know instinctively which pronoun to use in most instances. For information about pronoun case see
the TIP Sheet "Pronouns.")

First person pronouns are all those that can refer to the speaker(s): I, me, we, us. Second person
pronouns refer to the person(s) spoken to: you. And third person pronouns refer to what is spoken of:
he, him, she, her, it, they, them. Some of these pronouns are singular-I, me, you, he, him, she, her,
it. And some are plural-we, us, you, they, them. There are a great many more pronouns, all of them
with person and number. The trick is to make pronouns agree, in both person and number, with their
antecedents. Singular antecedents take singular pronouns in the appropriate person. Plural
antecedents take plural pronouns in the appropriate person.

The election was a watershed; it brought voters out in droves. (third person singular)
Voters stood in line for hours waiting for their turn at the ballots. (third person plural)
Each was eager to take part, knowing he or she was part of an historic event. (third person singular)
We were a little anxious, for it was our first experience with touch screen voting. (first person plural)

A prepositional phrase following an antecedent, or referent, has no effect on a following personal

pronoun, which still must match the referent itself:

One of the boys left his soccer ball here.

Though boys is plural, the pronoun in this sentence must agree with the singular referent one (here
the subject of the sentence. For more about using prepositional phrases to help identify sentence
subjects, see TIP Sheet "Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases").

Agreement in person and number is trickier with indefinite pronouns. Like the personal pronouns listed
above, indefinite pronouns also have person and number–it's their number that causes confusion. In
general, any pronoun that ends with –body (anybody, everybody) or –one (someone, everyone) is
singular, no matter how much you feel that it should be plural:

Somebody from the girls' soccer team left her cleats on the field.
Everyone on the girls' team wants to play indoor soccer when this season ends to keep
up her conditioning.

Other (usually) singular indefinite pronouns are each, either, and neither:

It's such a fast game, neither of the girls wants to play goalie for her team.
Each of the boys has received a sports scholarship to his preferred college.

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On the other hand, some indefinite pronouns, such as none, can go either way depending on whether
they refer to count or non-count nouns:

None of the students will want to defer their education for another year. (plural, because none is
talking about students-a count noun.)
None goes to waste; it is all time well spent. (singular, because none here is about a quantity of time-
a non-count noun.)

For a more complete list of indefinite pronouns, see a writer's guide such as SF Writer, or the TIP
Sheet "Pronouns."

Other tricky words are collective nouns, for example jury, team, society. Collective nouns, though they
represent groups, are singular when the members act as one:

The soccer team was like an extended family to its members.

Our society values its sports heroes more than its civil servants.

On the other hand, if a group is acting as individuals or at cross purposes, a collective noun becomes
plural:

As soon as the judge read the verdict, the hung jury issued their statements.

Sometimes a pronoun refers to a compound subject. When a compound subject is joined by and, it is
plural and takes a plural pronoun:

Jack and Jill were unable to play because of their injuries.

When a compound subject is joined by nor/or (often accompanied by neither or either, which in any
case are themselves singular pronouns), the pronoun reference is singular:

Amy or Miya will be at her computer tomorrow.

2. Gender neutral pronouns

Even though most of us understand that mankind means all of us, male and female, and that the
generic he, like man, refers to both men and women, it is a recent innovation that pronouns must,
whenever possible, be chosen so as to be gender-neutral or gender-inclusive. There are various
clumsy ways to accomplish this, since in English there exists no gender-neutral pronoun in third
person singular (except it, which is inappropriate in reference to a person). To comply with this
practice, try using both male and female pronoun references:

Each student took his or her place at a computer station.

This method becomes awkward if there are a great many of these references. Another way, therefore,
to avoid a gender-exclusive pronoun is to change the antecedent to a plural if possible, and use a
plural pronoun reference:

All the students took their places at the computer stations.

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A third way to avoid this so-called "sexist" language is to alternate pronoun reference
between he's and she's–this is actually the preferred solution at some general circulation magazines
(look up their writers' guidelines, or read a few magazine articles on childcare, for instance, and see
for yourself)!

Admittedly, gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language makes a certain amount of sense in some

contexts, for instance in the example below, where the intended implication is to point out that the
privilege of suffrage is extended to males and females as equals:

Voters stood in line for hours waiting for their turn at the ballots. Each was eager to take part,
knowing he or she was part of an historic event.

At this time the use of gender-neutral language is undergoing discussion and evolution. Some people
are trying to invent a new, gender-neutral personal pronoun, while others are calling for a return to
their as a singular pronoun–the way most of us use it in conversation anyway, as in Everybody took
their turn (it may be technically incorrect, but it sure has numbers going for it!). For more information
than you imagined existed on this subject, start with the University of Texas website
http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html. Meanwhile, if you are unclear how to handle
gender issues in your own papers, ask if your instructor has a preference.

3. Unambiguous reference
The referent must appear prior to the pronoun that refers to it. It may appear in a nearby sentence if
the reference is clear enough. Below, Mr. Piluso is the referent for all the he's and him's, while Mai is
the referent for the she's and her's:

Mr. Piluso arrived late to class. He claimed that the child care center opened late and that was why he,
in turn, was late. But Mai said that she saw him at the coffee bar at 8:00, and that he greeted her as
he strolled toward the classroom.

However, if there are two possible referents and if there is a possibility that a reader will
misunderstand which is intended, revise the sentence. For example, in the sentence below, clearly two
females interact; but who greeted whom, and who strolled to class?

She said she saw her at the coffee bar at 8:00, and she greeted her as she strolled toward the
classroom.

It is necessary to replace some of these pronouns; the various she's must be named before the
pronouns which refer to them. In addition, they must be identified as many times as necessary to
avoid confusion:

Mai said she saw Ms. Kloss at the coffee bar at 8:00; Mai greeted her as Ms. Kloss strolled to
class. (Ms. Kloss, alas, is in no hurry.)

Mai said she saw Ms. Kloss at the coffer bar at 8:00; Mai greeted her as she strolled to class. (Now
Mai is the one strolling to class.)

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4. Missing referents
The pronoun's referent must actually appear (indefinite pronouns such as someone and everyone are
an exception). They and it commonly appear without proper antecedents, as in the following
examples:

On the news it said Chairman Arafat died of natural causes.

At the bed and breakfast, they don't allow pets.

The missing referent of the first sentence may be news or reporter. The missing referent of the
second sentence might be managers or owners. One of these words should appear in the sentence, or
the sentence should be revised to eliminate the orphan pronoun:

The news was that Chairman Arafat died of natural causes; NBC reported it first.
On the news, the reporter said Chairman Arafat died of natural causes.

The owners of the bed and breakfast told us they don't allow pets.
At the bed and breakfast, the owners don't allow pets.

You may use the pronoun you without a referent only if you are actually referring to your reader (as
we just did); you may not use it to refer to people in general. For formal writing, avoid you and
substitute one (it's gender-neutral, by the way):

One never knows what one can expect of dogs and cats on vacation.

Don't overuse one–it tends to sound stuffy in American English. If by you you mean people in general,
choose another word: people, society, everyone, most Americans.

A pronoun may not usually refer to a possessive word. In the following example, therefore, the
referent is missing:

In the staff's opinion, the contract offers them distinct advantages.

The intended referent of them is staff; however, staff's, as a possessive, is ineligible. Revise to add the
missing referent, or eliminate the pronoun:

The staff believe the contract offers them distinct advantages.

In the staff's opinion, the contract offers distinct advantages.

However, a possessive may be the antecedent of another possessive:

The union's solidarity increased its bargaining power.

Relative clauses beginning with which often lack referents; the pronoun which must refer to a
particular word or at most, a noun phrase; it may not refer to an entire clause. In the following
sentence, therefore, which lacks an antecedent:

English 11 was not offered, which created a hardship for seniors.

Revise this sentence by adding a specific referent, or eliminate the which clause altogether:

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English 11 was not offered, a situation which created a hardship for seniors.
English 11 was not offered, thus creating a hardship for seniors.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS: RESTRICTIVE AND NON-RESTRICTIVE

The relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, which, and that. Relative pronouns introduce
subordinate clauses functioning as adjectives. Use commas to set off nonrestrictive subordinate
clauses, and do not use commas to set off restrictive clauses. The choice of relative pronouns is
determined by the way the pronoun is used and the noun or pronoun to which it refers. Who, which,
and that take verbs that agree with their antecedents.

1. Relative pronouns introduce subordinate clauses functioning as adjectives.

The man who robbed us was never caught.

The arrow that has left the bow never returns.

In addition to introducing the clause, the relative pronoun, in this case

who, points back to a noun or pronoun that the clause modifies ( man). In the second sentence, that
points back to arrow.

Relative pronouns are sometimes "understood."

The things [that] we know best are the things [that] we haven't been taught.

2. Use commas to set off nonrestrictive elements. Do not use commas to set off restrictive
elements.

A restrictive element defines or limits the meaning of the word it modifies and is therefore essential to
the meaning of the sentence. Because it contains essential information, a restrictive element is not set
off with commas.

Restrictive: For camp the children need clothes that are washable.

If you remove a restrictive element from a sentence, the meaning changes significantly, becoming
more general than you intended. The writer of the example sentence does not mean that the children
need clothes in general. The intended meaning is more limited: The children need washable clothes.

Nonrestrictive: For camp the children need sturdy shoes, which are expensive.

A nonrestrictive element describes a noun or pronoun whose meaning has already been clearly defined
or limited. Because it contains nonessential or parenthetical information, a nonrestrictive element is set
off with commas. If you remove a nonrestrictive element from a sentence, the meaning does not
change significantly. The children need sturdy shoes, and these happen to be expensive.

3. The choice of that, which, who, or whom is dependent upon the way in which the
pronoun is used within the sentence, as well as the noun or pronoun to which it refers.

In general, use that with restrictive clauses and which with nonrestrictive clauses.
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Do not use which to refer to persons. Use who instead. That, though generally used to refer to things,
may be used to refer to a group or class of people.

Fans wondered how an old man who (not that or which) walked with a limp could play football.
The team that scores the most points in this game will win the tournament.

Who is used for subjects and subject complements; whom is used for objects.

Who is bringing what for whom?

4. Who, which, and that take verbs that agree with their antecedents.

Take a suit that travels well. (A suit... travels well.)

Take clothes that are easy to wash. (Clothes... are easy to wash.)

Sometimes problems occur when one of the and only one of the are used. Generally, one of the is
treated as plural, and only one of the is treated as singular.

Our ability to use language is one of the things that set us apart from animals.

The antecedent of that is things, not one. Several things set us apart from animals, and language is
one of them.

Carmen is the only one of the applicants who has the ability to step into this position.

The antecedent of who is one, not applicants. Only one applicant, Carmen, has the ability to step into
the position.

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