that are persistent, debilitating

[GoodTaste]

Long COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is being seen in a growing number of patients reporting a constellation of symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection that are persistent, debilitating, and have yet to be fully explained by known or measurable mechanisms. These symptoms include fatigue, cognitive difficulties, mood dysregulation, headaches, insomnia, dizziness, and a variety of other neurological, neuropsychiatric, autonomic, and systemic symptoms.

Source: Long COVID has exposed medicine's blind-spot (The Lancet)

The antecedent of the clause "that are persistent, debilitating..." appears to be "a constellation of symptoms" and thus is taken as either singular or plural. But the plural form "that are persistent, debilitating..." sounds better than "that is persistent, debilitating..." I can't clearly tell why.

Why the plural form "that are persistent, debilitating..." sounds better than the singular form "that is persistent, debilitating..."?

 

[5jj]

Why does the plural form "that are persistent, debilitating..." sounds better than the singular form "that is persistent, debilitating..."?

The antecedent of 'that' is 'symptoms'.

 

[Andromeda]

The antecedent of 'that' is 'symptoms'.

According to traditional rules of grammar, the antecedent of the relative pronoun is "a constellation of....". Thus, it should be "...that is persistent, debilitating, and has yet to be fully explained by known or measurable mechanisms."

 

[5jj]

According to traditional rules of grammar, the antecedent of the relative pronoun is "a constellation of....". Thus, it should be "...that is persistent, debilitating, and has yet to be fully explained by known or measurable mechanisms."

What rules are those?

 

[Andromeda]

What rules are those?

The antecedent of a pronoun usually is the proper noun or common noun phrase it replaces. Thus, the noun phrase that "that" modifies is "a constellation of symptoms".

 

[jutfrank]

the noun phrase that "that" modifies is "a constellation of symptoms".

No, that's not right. As 5jj has pointed out, the antecedent of that is symptoms, not a constellation. It is the symptoms that are persistent and debilitating, not the constellation.

 

[5jj]

According to traditional rules of grammar, the antecedent of the relative pronoun is "a constellation of....". Thus, it should be "...that is persistent, debilitating, and has yet to be fully explained by known or measurable mechanisms."

So would you say the following? -

A lot of people is coming.
A number of people is coming.
A couple of my friends is coming.
The majority of my friends is British.
About half is English and the rest is Scottish or Irish.

 

[teechar]

About half is English and the rest is Scottish or Irish.

That can work if, for example, talking about wool.
I wonder if 5jj meant to write something like "About half of the people is ..."

 

[5jj]

I thought of these two sentences going together:

The majority of my friends is British. About half is English and the rest is Scottish or Irish.

I didn't make that clear. Sorry.​

 

[probus]

That can work if, for example, talking about wool.

The first thing we check when considering the purchsse of wool is its nationality. We don't want no stinkin' dago wool around here.

 

[Andromeda]

No, that's not right. As 5jj has pointed out, the antecedent of that is symptoms, not a constellation. It is the symptoms that are persistent and debilitating, not the constellation.

Generally, there are several considerations in determining the antecedent of a relative pronoun: one of which is the proximity rule. 5jj seems to prefer this. The other consideration is "Syntax", i.e., the set of rules, principles, and processes that governs the structure of sentences in a any language. By its "dictates", the antecedent is the noun phrase, "a constellation of...".

 

[Andromeda]

So would you say the following? -

A lot of people is coming.
A number of people is coming.
A couple of my friends is coming.
The majority of my friends is British.
About half is English and the rest is Scottish or Irish.

The above are quite different from the relative-pronoun/relative clause/antecedent rules that I mentioned.

 

[5jj]

The above are quite different from the relative-pronoun/relative clause/antecedent rules that I mentioned.

How about these then? -

Long COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is being seen in a growing number of patients who is reporting a lot of symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection that is are persistent, debilitating, and has yet to be fully explained by known or measurable mechanisms.

COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is being seen in a couple of patients who is reporting ...

The majority of people who is affected by this is being isolated.

A third of those infected last year has recovered. The rest is still being treated.

 

[5jj]

The other consideration is "Syntax", i.e., the set of rules, principles, and processes that governs the structure of sentences in a any language. By its "dictates", the antecedent is the noun phrase, "a constellation of...".

On which tablet of stone can I find this set of rules, principles and processes for English?

 

[jutfrank]

Generally, there are several considerations in determining the antecedent of a relative pronoun

But the single most important consideration is meaning. (Relative) pronouns are devices of reference. A pronoun relates to its antecedent by referring to the same thing in the speaker's mind.

 

[Andromeda]

How about these then? -

Long COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is being seen in a growing number of patients who is reporting a lot of symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection that is are persistent, debilitating, and has yet to be fully explained by known or measurable mechanisms.

The rule of thumb for "a/the number of" construction is stated succinctly in "Do's, Don'ts & Maybes of English Usage" [1977] by Theodore Bernstein: "In general, 'a number" takes a plural verb and 'the number' a singular." An opinion that has been corroborated by The American Heritage Dictionary [2021]. This observation does not invalidate the pronoun-antecedent syntax rule that I mentioned.

COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is being seen in a couple of patients who is reporting ...[

The same as above: the presence of "the" before words like "couple", "total", majority" and "number" denotes that it is singular; so we use a singular verb. As in the previous example, the verb that follows "a couple of" is determined by "a couple of" not by the noun "patients".

The majority of people who is affected by this is being isolated.

See above.

A third of those infected last year has recovered. The rest is still being treated.

See above.

By the bye, what do you think of the following sentence?

"It was raining outside, and on the back step was a little man with two bags who was shivering and stamping his feet."

 

[Andromeda]

On which tablet of stone can I find this set of rules, principles and processes for English?

Some tablet of stone, indeed

 

[Andromeda]

But the single most important consideration is meaning. (Relative) pronouns are devices of reference. A pronoun relates to its antecedent by referring to the same thing in the speaker's mind.

I should agree with you. "Semantics" is definitely one of the considerations.

 

[5jj]

The rule of thumb for "a/the number of" construction is stated succinctly in "Do's, Don'ts & Maybes of English Usage" [1977] by Theodore Bernstein: "In general, 'a number" takes a plural verb and 'the number' a singular." An opinion that has been corroborated by The American Heritage Dictionary [2021]. This observation does not invalidate the pronoun-antecedent syntax rule that I mentioned.

So you'd say that a number of just happens to be an exception, would you? How about a lot of?

the presence of "the" before words like "couple", "total", majority" and "number" denotes that it is singular; so we use a singular verb. As in the previous example, the verb that follows "a couple of" are determined by "a couple of" not by the noun "patients".

A couple of patients is reporting... and a couple of patients who us reporting ... are unnatural in BrE.

Many singular quantifying expressions can be used with plural nouns and pronouns; plural verbs are normally used in this case.

A couple of my friends plan to open a travel agency. [NOT [STRIKE]A couple of my friends plans[/STRIKE] ...)

The majority of criminals are non violent.

Half of his students don't understand a word he says. (NOT [STRIKE]Half of his students doesn't[/STRIKE] ...)

Swan, Michael (2005.520). Practical English Usage, Third edition.

 

[Andromeda]

So you'd say that a number of just happens to be an exception, would you? How about a lot of?

In expressions such as "A lot of children", for instance, the pronoun "lot" is not a head noun. It is a complex modifier analogous to words like "several" and "many". "A lot of" can occur with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns. The verb, in such instances, agrees in number with the noun that follows the preposition "of". Therefore,

1. A lot of pizza was left in the refrigerator.
But
2. A lot of the apples were ripe.

A couple of patients is reporting... and a couple of patients who us reporting ... are unnatural in BrE.

I have covered this above.

Many singular quantifying expressions can be used with plural nouns and pronouns; plural verbs are normally used in this case.

A couple of my friends plan to open a travel agency. [NOT [STRIKE]A couple of my friends plans[/STRIKE] ...)

The majority of criminals are non violent.

Half of his students don't understand a word he says. (NOT [STRIKE]Half of his students doesn't[/STRIKE] ...)

Swan, Michael (2005.520). Practical English Usage, Third edition.

Ditto