Which of the following sentences is worded correctly and why?
He is one of only two known people in the world who HAS read the works of William Shakespeare.
He is one of only two known people in the world who HAVE read the works of William Shakespeare.
2006-08-01 03:36:05 · 22 answers · asked by Pete 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
The second one is correct.
The relative clause "who have read the works of William Shakespeare" is intended to modify "people", a plural noun. "Have" is the verb that agrees with a plural.
Peace out.
2006-08-01 05:17:00 · answer #1 · answered by drshorty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Neither are correct grammatically. The correct grammatical question is:
He is one of two known people, worldwide, who has read the works of William Shakespeare.
2006-08-01 05:39:38 · answer #2 · answered by purifietaylor 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the first one. has is correct because it is in reference to the sentence subject, which is him. that is to say, the 'he' at the beginning of the sentence. the reference to the two people is only a sub-clause, and does not change the subject of the sentence.
if that makes any sense to you. either way, the first sentence is right.
2006-08-04 23:36:13 · answer #3 · answered by wax.lyrical 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Neither is correct -- because lots of people have read the works of William Shakespeare.
however, the first one is correct. You wouldn't say "He have read" you would say "He has read." The verb refers to "He" not to "People."
2006-08-01 09:57:27 · answer #4 · answered by Ranto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Has is correct. A trick I learned in school is to remove the prepositional phrases form a sentence and then see what makes sense. He is one who has read the works. He is one who have read the works. Has obviously sounds correct, thus is the correct answer. He/she/it has, they/we/you have.
2006-08-01 03:50:32 · answer #5 · answered by spdybyke 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first is correct. When you take out the prepositional phrases, the sentences read:
He is one who HAS read the works.
He is one who HAVE read the works.
"One" is singular, so you use the singular verb, "has".
2006-08-01 07:31:52 · answer #6 · answered by CuriousMind 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
#1
2006-08-01 03:39:03 · answer #7 · answered by hell_in_a_handbasket 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The second one is correct.
...it goes back to conjugating the verb "to be"
I have/ He has / she has/......THEY HAVE
...when your speaking of a singular person other than yourself it's HAS
...when you're speaking of yourself or a group it's HAVE.
...You're speaking here of 2 people (THEY) of which "HE" is only one of the 2.
2006-08-01 03:49:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The second one. It's part of the prepositional phrase " of only two...". And two HAVE read.
2006-08-01 05:37:29 · answer #9 · answered by rcrbsll 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The correct answer is the first (has) one because you are talking about one person.
2006-08-01 03:43:53 · answer #10 · answered by indomable1 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋