Which of the following is a grammatically correct statement?
The value of cars depreciate over time.
The values of cars depreciate over time.
The value of cars depreciates over time.
Thanks!
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The first one is incorrect.
The value of cars depreciate over time.
The verb should agree with 'value', not cars.
For this reason, the 2nd and 3rd ones are both correct. Their usage depends on context.
Consider:
The values of (most) cars depreciate over time.
Values of different cars
and
The value of (my) cars depreciates over time.
Value of all my cars taken collectively
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In which context would you use my second sentence and in which context would you use my third? – lightweaver Apr 9 '15 at 7:04
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@stygian: Generally, no, but if your talking about the sum of their separate values (which is unlikely), then yes – Tushar Raj Apr 9 '15 at 7:07
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1@stygian You could get around the problem by saying The value of any car depreciates over time. – WS2 Apr 9 '15 at 7:15
