sidoknowia wrote:
sayantanc2k wrote:
The subject for the verb "keep" / "keeps" is "that", and "that" refers to the noun "factors" - hence "that" is plural and so the verb should also be plural, i.e. "keep".
Hi,
I understand your explanation, based upon it I was trying to make few examples of my own to get better understanding of the concept - but ended up getting confused.
Can you please help me with below sentence ?
A volcano is only of the factors, albeit an important one, that
destroys/destroy the biodiversity of the island.
As before, "that" refers to "factors" and is hence plural - the verb should also be plural: "destroy" is correct.
In order to understand this structure, first identify the antecedent of the relative pronoun "that". In general identification is easy because "that" would generally come immediately after the noun it refers to (as per the modifier touch rule). However there are some exceptions (such as this one), in which the modifier is separated from the noun it refers to - this example is such an exception. Manhattan SC guide explains these exceptions in detail. This particular example falls under the following category:
A short non-essential phrase intervenes and is set off by commas. (Here: "albeit an important one".)