[Grammar] Subject-verb agreement when "who" is involved

[duncsgita]

Can any one tell me which of the following is correct and why:
It is you who has to put them into practice.
OR
It is you who have to put them into practice.

Generally relative pronouns follow the subject they replace, but in this case it is introducing a subordinate clause, so I am confused. Who can clarify this?

 

[lauralie2]

Hi duncsgita

1. It is you who has to put them into practice. :tick:
2. It is you who have to put them into practice. :cross:

The subject is who, not you. By default, who is singular in number which makes the verb has singular in number too.

 

[duncsgita]

Thank you for this, Lauralie2. It makes sense to me, but I was confused by the rule that says the relative pronoun agrees in number and case with the pronoun it replaces: e.g. "The students who have forgotten their books can borrow copies from the library." or "These are the students who have special needs." I struggle to articulate how my earlier example is different to these two, where "who" is not singular. Can you explain that to me?

 

[corum]

Thank you for this, Lauralie2. It makes sense to me, but I was confused by the rule that says the relative pronoun agrees in number and case with the pronoun it replaces: e.g. "The students who have forgotten their books can borrow copies from the library." or "These are the students who have special needs." I struggle to articulate how my earlier example is different to these two, where "who" is not singular. Can you explain that to me?

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...5-verbal-governance-relatives.html#post578345

 

[TheParser]

Can any one tell me which of the following is correct and why:
It is you who has to put them into practice.
OR
It is you who have to put them into practice.

Generally relative pronouns follow the subject they replace, but in this case it is introducing a subordinate clause, so I am confused. Who can clarify this?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

(1) Let's look at a similar sentence:

It is I who ___ at fault.

(2) One scholar in his book agrees that -- logicially -- it should be:

It is I who is at fault. = It (who is at fault) is I.

(3) But most books agree that nowadays the "correct"

answer is:

It is I who am at fault.

The reasoning: "am shows us that the relative pronoun agrees with

its antecedent in person and number." (Source: Descriptive English

Grammar by House and Harman.)

(4) Thus, you may wish to say:

It is you who have to put them into practice.

 

[Pedroski]

I would agree with Parser:

It's up to you, you have to put them into practice.
It's you who have to put them into practice.

 

[lauralie2]

(1) Let's look at a similar sentence:

It is I who ___ at fault.

(2) One scholar in his book agrees that -- logicially -- it should be:

It is I who is at fault. = It (who is at fault) is I.

It could just as well be argued that 'is' be singular because the true antecedent is the noun phrase 'the one':

• It is I, the one, who is at fault.
• It is you, the one, who is at fault.

• It is they, the ones, who are at fault.

(3) But most books agree that nowadays the "correct"

answer is:

It is I who am at fault.

The reasoning: "am shows us that the relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person and number." (Source: Descriptive English Grammar by House and Harman.)

It's a fabulous example of how grammar changes over time, and, yes, Present Day English 'I who am' sounds more natural to me as well.

(4) Thus, you may wish to say:

It is you who have to put them into practice.

It sounds rather archaic, not to mention overly pedantic. I, for one, wouldn't wish to say it or wish it upon anyone to say. :lol:

 

[corum]

Can any one tell me which of the following is correct and why:
It is you who has to put them into practice.
OR
It is you who have to put them into practice.

Generally relative pronouns follow the subject they replace, but in this case it is introducing a subordinate clause, so I am confused. Who can clarify this?

Who has to put them into practice?
Who has to put them into practice is you.
It is you (who has to put them into practice). -- 'who' in the bracketed clause does not relate to 'you' in the same manner as 'who' relate in

I, who have been teaching, know how to...

to 'I'. It is not

It is [you who has to put them into practice], but it is

[Who has to put them into practice] is you.

The link I provided is not so much related to this thread as I thought at first glance. Or so I think. The wh-clause is raised out of the subject position and its landing site is after the subject complement. Wh-clause and subject complement 'you', they are not one syntactically.