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"The socks in question [are or is] the left one, before and after it was cleaned." Is the correct conjugation "are" or "is"?

In the above sentence (and this one), a pair of socks is expected, but it is introduced that the two socks are/is in fact the same one. Should the plural or singular form of the verb be used?

Notabot
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  • In English, a verb always agrees with that verb's subject. – tchrist Mar 29 '20 at 14:44
  • Does anyone have an example of a reference sentence like this where the subject is plural? (The ones I'm finding, including the alleged similar question have a singular subject.) – Notabot Mar 29 '20 at 14:55
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    Those cattle are buffalo. Those buffalo are cattle. These eggs are my breakfast today. Yesterday my breakfast was a few eggs. A tensed verb always agrees with its subject. – tchrist Mar 29 '20 at 15:26
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    Your example context simply doesn't work anyway, because there's only *one* sock. So it has to be The sock* in question is the left one, before and after it was cleaned*. – FumbleFingers Mar 29 '20 at 15:33
  • Diagram it. The socks are. I'd just say sock, singular: The sock is. – Charlie Bernstein Mar 29 '20 at 17:36
  • If the entire story is about socks, and the form "socks" is used throughout the story, and the punchline is that it's been the same sock all along, then it's not clear whether the punchline should start with "socks" or "sock". That's how the question arose. – Notabot Mar 29 '20 at 17:59

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