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"1 in 5 students uses tobacco."

What is the subject?
What is the prepositional object of "in"?
What part of speech is "5"?
What part of speech is "students"?

I don't need a re-wording of the meaning.

user312440
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  • The slight modification "One student in five uses tobacco" avoids the dilemma nicely. – Brian Donovan Nov 30 '14 at 16:46
  • I think you've turned something very simple into a complex question. It must be a singular verb because it refers to "one student". – Centaurus Nov 30 '14 at 16:47
  • @Centaurus While I think the subject probably is "1" (singular) "in 5 students" messes things-up. It might be possible that the subject is "students" (plural) and "1 in 5" just modifies the plural subject? How can the prepositional object be explained? – user312440 Nov 30 '14 at 16:53
  • "One student (in a universe of 5) uses tobacco" That's what the sentence means. – Centaurus Nov 30 '14 at 16:58
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    This isn't a duplicate any more, but it should remain closed because (1) asking four questions in one makes it unanswerable and (2) all of them are General Reference.(Homework questions are also discouraged, since internet answers destroy the value of the homework.) – Tim Lymington Nov 30 '14 at 18:51
  • @TimLymington this is not a "homework question". i'm just trying to help a friend who is being taught incorrect english by very expensive english instructors in japan. me, personally, i am pretty content with my english skills. rather, i am just a tiny worried that my explanation is inadequate. and, i cared enough to ask for some assistance. as a mod has dinged this, well, i learned something much different on english stackexchange. – user312440 Nov 30 '14 at 19:01
  • @TimLymington Can you please be my proxy on the Council of Moderators and file a grievance that a mod is working to create an environment that dissuades participation? Then, just delete my user account on "English Language & Usage" forum. I don't need the abuse. :-) – user312440 Nov 30 '14 at 19:36
  • You have a strange idea of Stack Exchange, perhaps because of a lack of research. No moderator has been involved with this question. But if you want your account closed, only you can do that; instructions on the help page. – Tim Lymington Nov 30 '14 at 21:31
  • @TimLymington I did misunderstand about mods. Even so, when I invest the time to form a question, I expect, at the least, to not get an answer. Receiving insults? I'll leave this account open because I asked a few questions with answers. I'll create a new account just for software dev. I adore English and Japanese grammar, but it distracts me from my real job. This turned out well in the end. – user312440 Nov 30 '14 at 23:57

1 Answers1

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Good analysis! You are correct on your first impression. The subject of the sentence is that single student, ergo "uses", the singular form, is correct.

Interestingly, both your proposed structures for the role of "5" are valid English expressions though some might debate relative merits of style. In your original sentence, 5 functions as an adjective modifying students; in the second, I believe it used to be called using an adjectival noun. Simply put, it's a noun, therefore it can be taken as the object of the preposition "in". Context is what informs the reader or listener the answer to the question "five of what," similar to how a pronoun needs context in other independent clauses or sentences to make sense but grammatically stands as correct within its own clause.

Ian Anderson
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