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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Can someone please check this sentence for me?

In the Ramayana, the apparent theme of good vs. evil is one of the main themes that undoubtedly plays a central role in the epic.

Should it be 'play' or 'plays'? I would think it's plays, but my MSFT Word keeps correcting it as 'play.'

Thanks!
  

Top answer

I would tend to agree with MSFT Word in this case. I look at it this way: The apparent theme of good vs. ].

— Yankee

  • I would tend to agree with MSFT Word in this case.
  • I look at it this way: The apparent theme of good vs.
  • ].
  • "What" = the main themes that play a central role in the epic
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3 Answers
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I would tend to agree with MSFT Word in this case.

I look at it this way:

The apparent theme of good vs. evil is one of [what?].

"What" = the main themes that play a central role in the epic
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Ah, thank you. I just thought that the theme of good vs evil was singular.
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Yes, you could say "the theme of good vs evil plays a central role", and then you would use the third person singular form of the verb. However, as the sentence is written, it suggests that there are several main themes, not just the good vs evil theme.

You could rewrite the sentence this way, for example:

In the Ramayana, the apparent theme of good vs. e
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