Is this sentence correct?
"Carbohydrates are a part of food that gives the body energy."
or should it be
"Carbohydrates are a part of food that give the body energy."
Or can it be both?
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'Part' and 'gives' go together, right? – Yosef Baskin Jun 09 '17 at 23:05
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Not sure. I can't decide if gives should refer to "Carbohydrates" or to "part"; that's my confusion :) – srf888 Jun 09 '17 at 23:26
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Anyway, food is not usually divided into parts. – Xanne Jun 09 '17 at 23:31
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Right, so both are correct. One means that carbohydrates are 'a part of food that gives the body energy' and the other means that carbohydrates are a part of food and they give the body energy. Right? (And thanks @Xanne, I know what you mean, but I am trying to write a definition for basic English learners so am trying to keep the language simple, which is why it's a bit awkward.) – srf888 Jun 10 '17 at 01:32
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(and sorry meant to add that one of my issues was that I wrote "a part of food" rather than "the part of food" which would work with "gives", but is incorrect because it suggests that it's the only part that gives energy which is untrue) – srf888 Jun 10 '17 at 01:33
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(and that is also why I'm not sure if it's an exact duplicate of the children post or not) – srf888 Jun 10 '17 at 01:35
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Definitely "gives" here. Whether the pronoun's antecedent is "part" or "food", the verb should be singular. I do not believe that "carbohydrates" can be the antecedent, for it and the relative clause are on opposite sides of the verb (this can happen [They are fast who run], but it does not feel right here). – Khuldraeseth na'Barya Jun 10 '17 at 03:27
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Perfect! Thank you @Scrooble. That is what I was thinking, but it's good to read my thinking confirmed. I appreciate it! – srf888 Jun 11 '17 at 04:26