One in ten people is / are

Question

‘One in ten people is/are affected by the disease.’Some authorities say 'is' is correct because we're talking about one person; others say 'one in ten' means 'ten percent', so 'are' should be used. What's the true grammatical verdict?Thank you.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

victoothers say 'one in ten' means 'ten percent'

No, it does not.

Yoong Liat · Answer

I would use One in ten people is affected by the disease.

CalifJim · Answer

victoSome authorities say 'is' is correct because we're talking about one person; others say 'one in ten' means 'ten percent', so 'are' should be used. What's the true grammatical verdict?

When some authorities say one thing and others say another, obviously there is no true verdict. In my opinion, there is no point in asking for a true verdict when you already know there is none. The question remains unresolved.

You may find this link interesting. Among other observations seen there, note the following:

"In data analyzed for the ‘Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English’ on constructions with one in or one out of followed by a number, plural agreement predominated."

http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/64575/1-in-10-are-or-1-in-10-is

CJ

Canadian45 · Answer

victo‘One in ten people is/are affected by the disease.’Some authorities say 'is' is correct because we're talking about one person; not true others say 'one in ten' means 'ten percent', Yes, it does. so 'are' should be used. What's the true grammatical verdict?

Victo · Answer

Thanks, everybody.

One in ten people is / are

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