Modifier-The Oneida

Question

The Oneida were the only one of the five-nation Iroquois League who sided with the colonists during the American Revolution. 1.Why is The Oneida plural? Is it the same for all the name of the countries, tribes e.t.c preceded by the?2 Is  who sided with the colonists during the American Revolution   misplaced...Looks as if its modifying League not The oneida?3.Assuming the modifier is correct ,dont we need who to be preceded by comma coz if its restrictive it sounds as if there are some other nation other than Oneida in the league who sided with the colonists?Please help me out....

Avangi · Accepted Answer

I'm afraid question #1 is over my head. I'm not exactly sure that the number agreements in the quoted sentence are correct.

The antecedent for the "who" clause is "one." Rudolph is the only one of Santa's Reindeer who has a red nose. .

It's correct.

The "who" clause is correctly restrictive.

The Oneida tribe are the ones who did it.

The Oneida were the only one of the five-nation Iroquois League who sided with the colonists during the American Revolution.

Pokh · Answer

AvangiI'm afraid question #1 is over my head. I'm not exactly sure that the number agreements in the quoted sentence are correct.

The antecedent for the "who" clause is "one." Rudolph is the only one of Santa's Reindeer who has a red nose. .
It's correct.

The "who" clause is correctly restrictive.
The Oneida tribe is the one who did it.

1.Just like THE FRENCH, THE ENGLISH are plural The oneida also is... However, THE CHINESE is not always plural ...so what decides whether its gonna be plural or singular?

2.Should n't who refer to immediately preceding noun? Or Can we always trim phrases to get the proper antecedent?

Avangi · Answer

It's a tough sentence.

pokh1.Just like THE FRENCH, THE ENGLISH are plural The oneida also is... However, THE CHINESE is not always plural ...so what decides whether its gonna be plural or singular?

We have a name for the country, and we have a name for the people. I believe that in English, the name for the people is always plural.

We say "The Chinese ARE brave people," not "The Chinese IS brave people."

I appreciate your problem. We also say "The French are a brave people," using the singular article. Ditto the Chinese, and all other "peoples."

There are many collective nouns which may be either singular or plural:

The team is / The team are

The committee is / the committee are

The tribe is / the tribe are

"The Oneida" is both the name of the tribe and the name of the people. (I told you this was over my head!)

The thing that irks me about your sentence is "They were the only one who etc."

If it were written "They were the only tribe who etc." I'd have no problem.

pokh2.Should n't who refer to immediately preceding noun? Or Can we always trim phrases to get the proper antecedent?

It doesn't always refer to the immediately preceding noun.

In my opinion, it's often helpful to trim things to emphasize the structure. But it takes a bit of experience. You can't go whacking away indiscriminately!

If you treat the "who" clause as non-restrictive, the sentence makes no sense. A native speaker realizes this, but an English learner would probably not. As I said, it's a tough sentence.

If you eliminate the "who" clause, what you have left is, "They were the only ones."

That's a correct sentence, but it needs prior context in order to make sense.

Almost nobody came! They were the only ones!

They were the only ones (of all the tribes) who came.

Pokh · Answer

Avangi,

Will the sentence be correct If I change it to :

The Oneida were the only one of the five-nation Iroquois League in siding with the colonists during the American Revolution.

Can you shed some lights into the use of in ?

Thank you

Avangi · Answer

pokhCan you shed some lights into the use of in ?

I'll try.

I don't think your new sentence works. The main verb is copular.

If it were an action verb, "to side" being another action verb could modify it.

I lost a fortune in/by investing in his company.

They made a mistake in/by siding with the colonists.

No, that doesn't seem to be the key.

I was foolish in helping you. This main verb is copular, and the structure works.

(The prepositions are optional, by the way. "They made a mistake siding with the colonists" is fine.)

The Oneida were the only one of the five-nation Iroquois League in siding with the colonists.

What's wrong with this?

I think the problem is the preposition. If you delete it, the sentence is okay.

He is the only one in standing with me. No good.

He is the only one standing with me. Good.

They were alone in siding with the colonists. This is okay too!

If the complement of the copular is an adjective, you can use "in."

He was smart [in] doing that..How about that?!?

If the complement is a noun, you probably need to follow it with the infinitive.

It was a mistake in siding with the colonists. No Good.

It was a mistake to side with the colonists. Good.

Holyduke · Answer

Is it a reduction?

....who sided with the colonists.

you eliminate the who and change sided into siding?

Avangi · Answer

holyduke..who sided with the colonists.

Hi, holyduke.
Could you make that into a complete sentence, please?

Thanks, - A.

Edit. Sorry, I misunderstood. You're just saying that pokh's sentence is correct as it is, right?

Holyduke · Answer

"The Oneida were the only one of the five-nation Iroquois who sided with the colonists."

I just pulled the latter part of the sentence.

So, is "The Oneida were the only one of the five-nation Iroquois siding with the colonists." a reduction?

Edit: I agree that "The Oneida were the only one of the five-nation Iroquois in siding with the colonists." is wrong.

the in should be deleted. I am just wondering siding in the sentence is a reduction from "who sided".

Avangi · Answer

Thanks. I don't honestly know if a reduction can include changing the verb form. Sorry.

There are plenty of experts here who could answer that.

(I'll have to study.)

Modifier-The Oneida

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