More than 10% of Japan’s population is now age 80 or older, the government said Monday, the latest worrying milestone in the rapidly graying country’s demographic crisis.
Regarding the actual article, I have nothing to add that hasn’t been discussed already (and at this point I bet nobody will see this comment anyway). However, the specific grammar error in the title annoys me to no end, so I wanted to vent.
…one in 10 residents are…
It should be “…one in 10 residents is…”
People seem to forget how to conjugate after three words. Similarly, all too often I read something like, “None of these things are…” I don’t have an English degree, but in my mind parsing that phrase is like nails on a chalkboard.
For the 0 of you still reading, a tip: You can omit certain parts of the sentence - and expand others - to test how the subject-verb pair sounds.
“None of these things are…” -> “Not one of these things are…” -> “Not one are…” Wtf??
Anyway, thanks for listening to my Ted Talk Ralph Rant.
“1 in 10 residents” does not refer to a person but a proportion of people, which is a plurality of people. Change it to “10% of residents” and it’s clear that 'are"is more gooder.
If you want to super expand it…
A proportion of 1 in 10 residents are…
Or
Proportionally 1 in 10 residents are…
Aaand also…
“are” acts on “residents”, not “1 in 10”. “1 in 10” is an adjective phrase. Residents is the noun.
Regarding the actual article, I have nothing to add that hasn’t been discussed already (and at this point I bet nobody will see this comment anyway). However, the specific grammar error in the title annoys me to no end, so I wanted to vent.
It should be “…one in 10 residents is…”
People seem to forget how to conjugate after three words. Similarly, all too often I read something like, “None of these things are…” I don’t have an English degree, but in my mind parsing that phrase is like nails on a chalkboard.
For the 0 of you still reading, a tip: You can omit certain parts of the sentence - and expand others - to test how the subject-verb pair sounds.
“None of these things are…” -> “Not one
of these thingsare…” -> “Not one are…” Wtf??Anyway, thanks for listening to my
Ted TalkRalph Rant.“1 in 10 residents” does not refer to a person but a proportion of people, which is a plurality of people. Change it to “10% of residents” and it’s clear that 'are"is more gooder.
If you want to super expand it…
A proportion of 1 in 10 residents are…
Or
Proportionally 1 in 10 residents are…
Aaand also…
“are” acts on “residents”, not “1 in 10”. “1 in 10” is an adjective phrase. Residents is the noun.