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Does the verb form after "who" attach to "one" or "friends"? Or can both possibilities be argued?

  1. She gave the document to one of her friends who are trustworthy.
  2. She gave the document to one of her friends who is trustworthy.

Two other examples:

  1. She is one of those people who walk miles.
  2. She is one of those people who walks miles.

I'm wondering whether there is a rule that addresses this issue; namely, I'm wondering if the prepositional phrase can be ignored in 2 and 4 above.

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    One can parse it either way, in both cases. But the intonation would distinguish the two parses in speech. In writing, you take your chances that the reader will understand the intonation you intended; many don't seem to use the sound of writing in understanding it, but many others, especially native speakers, do. That's what "the comma problem" is all about -- native speakers can hear them in speech, and some of them "hear" them in writing as well.
    – John Lawler
    Sep 9, 2022 at 16:40
  • Thanks @JohnLawler Is this an example of synesis? Also, does this mean that "friends" can be the subject and that "one" can be the subject?
    – Eric1982
    Sep 9, 2022 at 16:41
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    Yes, either way. But I don't know what "synesis" means.
    – John Lawler
    Sep 9, 2022 at 16:54
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    Who is the subject of the extraposed relative clause who is/are trustworthy; it's not the subject of a main clause.
    – John Lawler
    Sep 9, 2022 at 16:58
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    Does this answer your question? "One of the children who was" vs. "one of the children who were" (4) requires specific context: 'Look at those people over there – they're all bone idle, never doing any real exercise.' ... 'No. Look at the girl in pink. She is one of those people who walks miles.' Unnatural, but grammatical.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Feb 7 at 19:54

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One can parse it either way, in both cases. But the intonation would distinguish the two parses in speech. In writing, you take your chances that the reader will understand the intonation you intended; many don't seem to use the sound of writing in understanding it, but many others, especially native speakers, do. That's what "the comma problem" is all about -- native speakers can hear them in speech, and some of them "hear" them in writing as well. Thanks @JohnLawler

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    I disagree: In the first pair, 2. is correct. It's a matter of there being one friend who is trustworthy, thus the relative clause belongs in the topmost NP, not the one with "friends" as head. In the second pair, 3. is correct. There is a set of people who walk miles, and she is a member of this set, thus the relative clause belongs in the embedded NP.
    – BillJ
    Sep 9, 2022 at 18:24
  • I agree with @BillJ that 4 is incorrect. If you wrote that sentence, then what would be the point of including “of those people”? It would be entirely redundant. (Which people?) However, I’m fine with either 1 or 2. In both of those sentences, “of her friends” contributes useful information.
    – MarcInManhattan
    Sep 9, 2022 at 23:32
  • @MarcInManhattan 'One of those people who… ' is a well-established figure of speech that should need no further justification. If it cropped up tomorrow as a neologism, clarity would depend more on semantic logic than grammar but either way 'of those people' is necessary, not redundant. Comments can't do justice to your apparent suggestion 'She is one… ' without 'of those people…', which deserves at least a long time in Chat, if not a separate Question. Failing either, do you see 'one of them/those/those people/those people who' as interchangeable in meaning, with equal redundancy?
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Sep 25, 2022 at 12:46
  • @RobbieGoodwin Of course “one of those people” is a common phrase; I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise. However, that fact doesn't help to distinguish between sentences 3 and 4. I was only trying to make a point about why sentence 3 is preferable; perhaps I didn’t explain it well.
    – MarcInManhattan
    Sep 26, 2022 at 14:29
  • @MarcInManhattan Sorry; you could hardly have made it more clear that including 'of those people' would be entirely redundant. When you didn’t mean to suggest 'one of those people' wasn't a common phrase, why not rephrase the Comment that wasn't meant to say that? Why not go back and make the point you meant to, about why sentence 3 is preferable?
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Sep 26, 2022 at 18:29

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