Summary: Singular or Plural

[Jeff Hanvey <jewahe -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

First off, I should offer my apologies for posting
such a "simple" question to the group. I know that I
should have looked it up myself, and if I could have
done so, I would have (I did check a dozen or so sites
on the web, but none discussed this particular case). 

I landed this job right about the time I was packing
to move to a new apartment. Since my stuff is still in
boxes at home, I don't have my guides with me at work.
I should be able to unpack them by the end of the
week, and I won't bother the list with silly grammar
questions.

Here's the summary:

Candie Woolly looked up the rule in several books,
including:

-The Basics - A Rhetoric and Handbook (3rd Edition)
-The Little, Brown Handbook  (7th Edition)
-Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers (5th Edition)).

The rule is:

Make verbs (in your sentence "indicate") in
subordinate clauses ("that indicate signs of corrosion
or excessive overheating") agree with the nouns those
clauses modify (connections). 

That is what I thought. Although, technically, the
subject of the clause is "that," which is singular,
the plural state of the antecedent (connections)
transfers to the verb (indicate) in the clause. 

I bring up the question only because I have always
wondered if I have been doing it correctly. I assumed
I was since I have never have been corrected, but you
never can tell with English. 

Because of the ambiguity, it would probably be best to
avoid the construction, such as in this version:

Examine [the] connections. Correct any that show signs
of corrosion or excessive overheating. (thanks to
Chris Thiessen for this revision).

I am taking this under advisement for now because:

1. At this time, I am only correcting the more glaring
errors, gathering information, and planning my
approach. I'm simply not ready to do a lot of
restructuring right now. 
2. I don't have all the versions of the manual. The
department took the version I'm working on and
"published" it by running off copies and using staples
as the binding (there has been no official
publication). Those stapled versions are floating
around the company, and I know for sure that one copy
contains a bunch of notes and changes, but I haven't
seen it (no one knows where it is). For all I know,
this entire section could no longer be valid. 

Thanks to everyone who replied! 

=====
Jeff Hanvey
Memphis, TN

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