When I read the following sentence:
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales.
I believe work sounds better than works.
Experts and wordsmiths, please advise!
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Possible duplicate of '1 out of 100 chickens is' or '1 out of 100 chickens are'?– Sven YargsCommented Jul 30, 2015 at 7:39
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And how about 1.75 in 10 Americans? You'll notice the denominator changes to avoid fractions and plurals, thus making the singular a clear choice. Rather than saying 2 in 10 one would typically say 1 in 5. But there are no "rules" here that are not routinely broken.– TimRCommented Jul 30, 2015 at 12:44
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1 Answer
This is an old argument. A case can be made for either.
- One in nine Americans works in sales.
One (in nine Americans) works in sales.
One works in sales.
- One in nine Americans work in sales.
1/9(320,000,000 ) Americans work in sales.
Thirty-five and a half thousand Americans work in sales.
You choose!
answered Jul 30, 2015 at 7:21
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