# Grammar Question: Remain vs. Remains **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946 "2015-08-26T14:07:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GrammarGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@GrammarGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrammarGirl)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/1 "2015-08-26T14:07:58Z")
Should the word “remain” in this sentence be “remain” or “remains”? Founded in 1900, Company XYZ is one of the few true partnerships that remain among the top banking firms of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/2 "2015-08-26T14:30:12Z")
Remain. In that sentence partnerships is the reference, and that’s plural. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/3 "2015-08-26T16:02:41Z")
Agreed. The relative clause modifies “partnerships”, which is the logical subject of that clause. Although irrelevant to this question, I might point out that in the UK, “company XYZ” might also take a plural verb, odd as that sounds to this American year. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/4 "2015-08-26T16:04:34Z")
That’s not how I remember it being taught. “One” is the reference word and it’s singular. “Partnerships” is part of a prepositional phrase. The verb needs to agree with the subject or object, not the prepositional phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/5 "2015-08-26T16:07:07Z")
I disagree with the other posters, it should be “remains”. The reason is that the verb is being done by one of the partnerships, so it is “one” that is doing the acting, not “partnerships”. An easy way to test this is to remove the prepositional phrase and see if it makes sense. So, remove “of the few true partnerships” then it makes sense as “…Company XYZ is one that remains among…” but not as “…Company XYZ is one that remain among…” ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/6 "2015-08-26T16:07:57Z")
On re-read, I think I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/7 "2015-08-26T16:12:21Z")
I’m with the people who say that the verb “to remain” goes with “partnerships” rather than with “one”. Multiple partnerships remain among the top banking firms of the world. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/8 "2015-08-26T16:13:17Z")
**Blaster Master** and **El Zagna’s** initial thought are correct. It should be remains. The subject is “one”. From [here](https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/SubjectVerb.html#each): > [@](#): > > Do not be confused by prepositional phrases which come between a subject and its verb. They do not change the number of the subject. > … > _Every one of the fraternity members has his own set of prejudices._ ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/9 "2015-08-26T16:27:44Z")
I’d just write “one of the few true partnerships remaining…” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/10 "2015-08-26T16:33:53Z")
I am curious if Exapno or Hari can go into further detail because it sure looks to me like a bog-standard prepositional phrase and the correct verb is remains. The core sentence looks to me like “Company XYZ is one that remains among the firms.” ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/11 "2015-08-26T16:59:31Z")
My initial thought was “remains”. But after reading the thread, I am wondering if you could use either, depending on whether you want the emphasis to be on Company XYZ or the few true partnerships. To me, “…Company XYZ is one of the few true partnerships that remain among the top banking firms of the world” emphasises the fact that there are only a few true partnerships remaining, while “…Company XYZ is one of the few true partnerships that remains among the top banking firms of the world” keeps the emphasis on the one company. On re-reading the above paragraph, I’m inclined to think “remains” is more correct. Think of it this way; you could choose to add a comma thus: “…Company XYZ is one of the few true partnerships that remains, among the top banking firms of the world.” Using “remain” there would look/sound wrong to me. On re-reading the above paragraph, I’m leaning even more towards “remains”. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/12 "2015-08-26T17:11:04Z")
Use the old remove the phrase and see what remains rule. (I see what I did there.) Company X is one that remains in the world. That’s grammatically correct but changes the meaning of the sentence. The intent of the sentence is talk about its status as a partnership, not the fact that it is a company. “the few true partnerships that remain in the world” is therefore a connected set of words that must be correct and consistent within itself. The whole is being dropped into the prepositional clause. ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/13 "2015-08-26T17:14:11Z")
> [@GrammarGirl](#): > > Should the word “remain” in this sentence be “remain” or “remains”? > > Founded in 1900, Company XYZ is one of the few true partnerships that remain among the top banking firms of the world. Not a native English speaker, but: Only a few true partnerships remain among the top banking firms of the world. Company XYZ is one of them. If it where only Company XYZ remaining, it would be: Company XYZ is the only true partnerships that remains among the top banking firms of the world. But there are more than one, therefore: Company XYZ is one of the few true partnerships that remain among the top banking firms of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/14 "2015-08-26T17:24:41Z")
Aside from my previous argument of removing the prepositional phrase, it’s very clear that the focus of the sentence is on Company XYZ. Consider, the sentence starts by saying “Founded in 1900”, which clearly modifies the company, it’s highly unlikely, and grammatically wonky, if it were intended to be modifying the various partnerships. Further, if you look at the rest of the sentence after the verb “among the best banking firms in the world”, again, it’s clearly about Company XYZ and not the partnerships. It just doesn’t make sense that we’d have two clear references to this bank, but then intend to emphasize the partnerships. As such, the subject of the verb “remain(s)” must be “one”, referencing the bank, and so it should be the singular conjugation. The other trick is, just intuitively, speaking it out-loud, it just sounds wrong as “remain”, and it sounds horribly wrong saying it as “remain” with the prepositional phrase removed. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/15 "2015-08-26T17:36:39Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Use the old remove the phrase and see what remains rule. (I see what I did there.) > > Company X is one that remains in the world. > > That’s grammatically correct but changes the meaning of the sentence. The intent of the sentence is talk about its status as a partnership, not the fact that it is a company. > > “the few true partnerships that remain in the world” is therefore a connected set of words that must be correct and consistent within itself. The whole is being dropped into the prepositional clause. But the part you removed (“one of”) makes it a different (and nonsensical) sentence: “Company XYZ is the few true partnerships that remain…” Removing “of the few partnerships” makes the meaning confusing because you don’t know what “one” refers to, but it doesn’t change the sentence structure or subject. The grammar guide I linked to above is clear: prepositional phrases which come between a subject and its verb do not change the number of the subject, which is “one”. > [@Anaglyph](#): > > Only a few true partnerships remain among the top banking firms of the world. > Company XYZ is one of them. Written this way, “remain” is correct, because the subect is “few” (plural). But the original sentence uses “one” (singular) and therefore should use remains. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/16 "2015-08-26T17:42:37Z")
Good analysis there **Blaster Master**. So what the OP really has is wording that tries to cram a few too many loose ends, details, and POV changes into a single sentence. With the result that the whole thing is muddy and we can’t even agree on what its main point is, nor how to slice up the clauses. As the author of far too many similarly woolly sentences I’ve been working on shorter and more focused sentences. Ones with the ancillary details separated out where they don’t cause confusion. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/17 "2015-08-26T17:46:16Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Aside from my previous argument of removing the prepositional phrase, it’s very clear that the focus of the sentence is on Company XYZ. Consider, the sentence starts by saying “Founded in 1900”, which clearly modifies the company, it’s highly unlikely, and grammatically wonky, if it were intended to be modifying the various partnerships. Further, if you look at the rest of the sentence after the verb “among the best banking firms in the world”, again, it’s clearly about Company XYZ and not the partnerships. It just doesn’t make sense that we’d have two clear references to this bank, but then intend to emphasize the partnerships. As such, the subject of the verb “remain(s)” must be “one”, referencing the bank, and so it should be the singular conjugation. > > The other trick is, just intuitively, speaking it out-loud, it just sounds wrong as “remain”, and it sounds horribly wrong saying it as “remain” with the prepositional phrase removed. # The focus of the sentence may be Company XYZ, but the grammatical subject of the sentence is “the few true partnerships” - unless the author is trying to say that only Company XYZ and no others of “the few true partnerships” remain (etc., etc.). But if that’s what s/he is trying to say, why mention any others at all? By definition, Company XYZ would be unique in remaining a true partnership in the banking world. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/18 "2015-08-26T17:48:48Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > But the part you removed (“one of”) makes it a different (and nonsensical) sentence: “Company XYZ is the few true partnerships that remain…” Removing “of the few partnerships” makes the meaning confusing because you don’t know what “one” refers to, but it doesn’t change the sentence structure or subject. > > The grammar guide I linked to above is clear: prepositional phrases which come between a subject and its verb do not change the number of the subject, which is “one”. > Written this way, “remain” is correct, because the subect is “few” (plural). But the original sentence uses “one” (singular) and therefore should use remains. The original also uses few. Company X is one of the few that remain. It works either way. One is not always singular. You can create a variety of structures that use one and are plural. > [@](#): > > Company X is one of the many that hire thousands of people each year. Or [here](http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/one.htm): > [@](#): > > “One is one and all alone and ever more shall be so,” goes the old Christmas song, but the fact that the singular one needs a singular verb can lead to confusion. In a recently published collection of language columns by William Safire, No Uncertain Terms, he wrote the following sentence (page 336): > > > [@](#): > > > > ``` > > "Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one of those phrases that sounds as if it comes out of Kipling. > > > > ``` > > The sentence caused considerable stir (as such things go), for the verb “sounds” should really relate to the plural “phrases,” not the singular “one.” The sentence should probably read (underlining things for our purpose): > > > [@](#): > > > > ``` > > "Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one of those phrases that sound as if they came out of Kipling. > > > > ``` > > The rare device for figuring out which verb to use in this construction is as follows: turn the sentence inside out: > > > [@](#): > > > > ``` > > Of those phrases that sound as if they came out of Kipling, "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one. > > > > ``` > > In this situation, the subject of the subordinate clause — usually a who or a that — will refer to the plural noun in the preceding prepositional phrase (not the one before it) and require a plural verb to follow. > > There is a possible exception, however. In Burchfield’s New Fowlers\*, we find this example: > > > [@](#): > > > > ``` > > "Don't you think," said Bernard, "that Hawaii is one of those places that was always better in the past." (from David Lodge, 1991; my underline) > > > > ``` > > Burchfield adds, “A plural verb in the subordinate clause is recommended unless particular attention is being drawn to the uniqueness, individuality, etc., of the one in the opening clause.” In an earlier note, Burchfield writes: “Exceptions [to the rule that we use the plural verb] occur when the writer or speaker presumably regards one as governing the verb in the subordinate clause,” and he gives another two or three examples, including “I am one of those people who wants others to do what I think they should.” If your thinking is that one must always be followed by a singular, you will often get the wrong answer. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/19 "2015-08-26T18:09:44Z")
**Exapno Mapcase** , you’re right, it’s not as simple as I was arguing, that “one” is always the subject. Your link was enlightening for me. But the last example in that seems to be closest to the original sentence, in that it is drawing attention to the uniqueness of of the one in the opening clause. From your example, this is correct: “I am one of those people who wants others to do what I think they should.” This is the exact structure of the sentence in question, “Company XYZ is one of the few true partnerships that remains…” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946/20 "2015-08-26T18:11:07Z")
> [@Anaglyph](#): > > Not a native English speaker, but: > Only a few true partnerships remain among the top banking firms of the world. > Company XYZ is one of them. > If it where only Company XYZ remaining, it would be: > Company XYZ is the only true partnerships that remains among the top banking firms of the world. > But there are more than one, therefore: > Company XYZ is one of the few true partnerships that remain among the top banking firms of the world. This. There are few true partnerships that \*remain \*among the top banking firms of the world. Company XYZ is one of them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-remain-vs-remains/728946.md?page=2)