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There is only one of his novels that** are** interesting.

Is this correct? If not which part is wrong, please tell me which explanation based on a sub-verb agreement. In my book, it says If a subject and the verb is joined by a relative pronoun, the verb used will agree with the antecedent to the relative pronoun( novels). Is this the case here?

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    The antecedent is "one"
    – CowperKettle
    May 21, 2018 at 7:44
  • There is ... that is... is unlikely. There's no need for "There is" in your sentence.
    – TimR
    May 21, 2018 at 12:44

2 Answers 2

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One of his novels is interesting.

Hence,

There is only one of his novels that is interesting.

Explanation: "that is interesting" is a restrictive relative clause, and it relates to the noun phrase "one of his novels". Basically, it relates to the word one.

We can use are here if we say that:

  1. There is only one of his novels (in this room, or on the table).
  2. By the way, his novels are interesting.

We would have to use a comma in this case:

There is only one of his novels, which are interesting. (his novels are interesting)

We can also write the sentence this way:

There is only one of his novels, which is interesting.

The meaning:

  1. There is only one of his novels (in this room, on the table, or elsewhere).
  2. This fact (that there is only one, and not more) is interesting.
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  • Hey, thanks but there is a rule that says If a subject and the verb is joined by a relative pronoun, the verb used will agree with the antecedent to the relative pronoun( novels). Is this wrong rule?
    – Ritwik Bhattacharyya
    May 21, 2018 at 7:17
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    @RitwikBhattacharyya - the rook is correct, but the antecedent in your sentence is "one"
    – CowperKettle
    May 21, 2018 at 8:08
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    I mean the rule is correct ))
    – CowperKettle
    May 21, 2018 at 8:35
  • Please clarify me if y understanding is correct. generally, the antecedent is the part directly before the relative pronoun. But as it is a kind of phrase 'one of the novels' so the relative pronoun relates with the main part of the phrase 'one'
    – Ritwik Bhattacharyya
    May 23, 2018 at 8:10
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There is only one of his novels that is interesting.

Other examples:

This is one of the pens that are available.
This is only one of the pens that is available.

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