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Which one is correct?

  1. He is one of the boys who play football.
  2. He is one of the boys who plays football.

Please state the reason as well.

herisson
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Vaibhav Sharan
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    I don't think this is an exact duplicate. Unlike the earlier question, either of the two seem correct to me, though with subtly different meanings. – tobyink Oct 07 '14 at 10:45
  • Related: Is this correct? “One of the things that makes him great is…” – Mari-Lou A Mar 10 '15 at 08:42
  • 1 means he belongs to the set {the boys who play football} (doubtless considered locally rather than globally). 2 means he belongs to the (again local) set {the boys} and also to the set {people who play football}. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 11 '17 at 15:46
  • For the non-mathematicians: (1) means There is a group of boys who play football; he is one of them. // (2) means There is a group of boys. He is one of them and he happens to play football. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 21 '19 at 16:33
  • @EdwinAshworth, you mean that, in the second example, "who plays football" is a nonrestrictive relative clause, right? But then isn't it necessary that it be preceded by a comma? – HeWhoMustBeNamed Dec 30 '19 at 18:44
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    @Mr Reality 'who plays football' is certainly non-defining in the mathematical way I've defined it. I'd never use such a sentence myself, other than in a contrived way, where I'm rebuffing 'All those lads are lazy'. As at the other string, I'd consider both clauses defining then. The comma would seem somehow out of place, and if I read it out, I'd leave no pause. But I'd use 'He is one of the boys you're talking about ... and he plays football.' – Edwin Ashworth Dec 30 '19 at 20:08
  • @EdwinAshworth, sorry I didn't understand how you would come to consider the second example too to have a defining relative clause. As I see it, "is one of the boys" has already restricted to the boy we're talking about in example 2; and so any relative clause we add now cannot restrict the possibilities any further, so it has to be a nonrestrictive clause. . . – HeWhoMustBeNamed Dec 30 '19 at 20:50
  • @EdwinAshworth, . . . Also I've read there is a rule that non-restrictive relative clauses are set off by commas, and restrictive clauses aren't (and that in fact that's how the reader is let known which is which); what you wrote seems to suggests there's room for personal preference -- so do you not think there is such a rule? – HeWhoMustBeNamed Dec 30 '19 at 20:51
  • As with most 'rules' one learns in English, there are grey areas and change over time in what is acceptable. The new word mens is commonly used in working mens clubs. While Please radio the pilot, who seems to be on the wrong course and Please radio the pilot who seems to be on the wrong course are obviously according to the accepted rules non-defining and defining/identifying respectively, and the comma reflects how they would be differentiated in speech, 'He is one of the boys, who plays football' sounds a ridiculous concoction. It's putting two clauses into a sentence that ... – Edwin Ashworth Dec 31 '19 at 16:35
  • are too disparate not to need two sentences. 'He is one of the boys you mentioned. He plays football and cricket with our Joe's team.' As I said, I can only see it being used where both statements (he is one of the boys; he plays football) are needed in the same sentence, in a context such as I gave, to rebuff "All those lads are lazy'. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 31 '19 at 16:40

1 Answers1

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The relative pronoun "who" refers to "the boys", a plural, so the verb takes the plural form. You can check it by transforming: the boys - Which boys? - They play football.

rogermue
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