why is the "is" omitted in this sentence?

Question

Unemployment is rising in Australia, after years of economic growth fuelled largely by mining exports.

One of the main countries likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK.
Every year many British bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers and other people with trades decide to swap life in the UK for life in Australia.

The above is an extract from a piece of news.
Q1.Does the "one of the main countries " mean Australia?
Q2. why is the "is" omitted in "One of the main countries likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK. "

Thanks for your help!

KateJS · Accepted Answer

1. No - one of the main countries [affected by the cuts] is the UK - because there will no longer be the demand for UK bricklayers etc.

2. Sorry, I don't understand wher you think another 'is' should be. The sentence could have been written as "The UK is one of the main countries likely to be affected by the cuts." , if that helps

Cool Breeze · Answer

Cedric2008Q2. why is the "is" omitted in "One of the main countries likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK. "

I think you probably mean why are has been omitted: One of the main countries [that/which are] likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK. When I studied English grammar as a schoolboy, structures like this were called "clause equivalents" in Scandinavia. I know they are called other names elsewhere.

CB

KateJS · Answer

Ah - it could also have been written - "One of the main countries that is likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK".

Cool Breeze · Answer

KateJSAh - it could also have been written - "One of the main countries that is likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK".

That is also possible if you insist on a grammatical error.

CB

CalifJim · Answer

Cedric2008why is the "is" omitted in "One of the main countries likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK. "

I think you are referring to a transformation called "Whiz Deletion".

One of the main countries [which are] likely to be affected by the cuts
is
the UK.

When you have a relative pronoun (that, which, who) followed by a form of to be (is, are, was, were, ...) and a participle, you can omit the pronoun and verb be. Here's another example:

The boy standing beside Mrs. Smith is her son.

comes from

The boy who is standing beside Mrs. Smith
is
her son.

Likewise,

The money spent on sound recordings is enormous. [money that is spent]
The gift intended for Louisa is wrapped in red paper. [gift which is intended]
We ended up eating the bread baked yesterday. [bread which was baked]

CJ

KateJS · Answer

CalifJim
Cedric2008why is the "is" omitted in "One of the main countries likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK. "
I think you are referring to a transformation called "Whiz Deletion".

One of the main countries [which are] likely to be affected by the cuts
is
the UK.

I don't understand why 'are' comes into this. Surely "One of the countries" is singular. Can someone explain please?

Cool Breeze · Answer

KateJSI don't understand why 'are' comes into this. Surely "One of the countries" is singular. Can someone explain please?

One is singular, that's why the main verb of the main clause is singular: is: One of the countries [that are] likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK. The antecedent of the relative pronoun is plural, countries: One of the countries [that are] likely to be affected by the cuts is the UK.

Using a singular verb is a very common mistake in other languages than English, too, if they have different verb forms for singular and plural. People make that mistake even in Finnish even though it isn't even remotely related to English.

CB

Tim New · Answer

Cool Breeze People make that mistake even in Finnish even though it isn't even remotely related to English.

CB

I thought English was related to all the other languages - it is just a hodge-podge of words and expressions gathered from other languages. Surely Finnish left its mark on English also

Cool Breeze · Answer

Tim NewSurely Finnish left its mark on English also

Yep, you're right! Sauna is originally a Finnish word.

Here's to you

CB

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