Re: Dorky grammar question
In the original sentence, "the set" is the subject and "defines" is the verb and so the number of set and defines
must agree. "Of rules" is merely an intervening prepositional
phrase and should have no influence on subject/verb agreement.
The word "set" may or may not be the subject, depending on the rest of the sentence. What's dependable is that the verb "define(s)" needs to agree with whatever is doing the defining:
* Can an arbitrary number of rules define the widget?
If so, "...rules that define..."
* Does it take the entire set of rules to define the widget?
If so, "...a set...that defines..."
By the way, a lot of people have suggested removing "set of" to make it clearer, but that may not be possible in her case.
For example, describing a data structure, you might say "RuleSet() stores the set of rules that define (defines?) the widget."
I don't think it's as complicated as some are making it. Look at the whole sentence, understand the nature of the widget being defined and the rules (or set of rules) defining it, and the answer will leap out at you.
Without all the facts, we can only offer the guidelines by which *we* would choose, and possibly *guess* at the answer.
--David
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RE: RE: Dorky grammar question: From: Jones, Donna
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