Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Verb-agreement question

Question

Which is correct?
  1. Plaintiff, Jane Doe, individually and as representative of the estate of John Doe, files this complaint . . .

  2. Plaintiffs, Jane Doe, individually and as representative of the estate of John Doe, file this complaint . . .

Answer

I think number 1 is correct.

What we are really asking is whether we have one plaintiff or two, right? Depending on how you answer that question, both 1 and 2 could be correct. You match the verb to the subject:

"Plaintiff . . . files . . ."

Or

"Plaintiffs . . . file . . ."

Here, I believe we have one plaintiff who acts in two capacities. So I think "Plaintiff . . . files . . ." is correct.

Here is some support from Garner's Modern American Usage:
    If a sentence has two or more singular subjects connected by and, use a plural verb. Yet if the subjects really amount to a single person or thing, use a singular verb."
Bryan A. Garner, Garner's Modern American Usage 753 (Oxford U. Press 2003).

I think what we have in number 1 is what Garner describes in the second sentence of the quotation.

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