“One of those” grammar condundrums

Here’s one of those thorny usage issues that confound even the most grammatically astute among us: Should the verb following “one of those who [or that]” be plural or singular?

Consider these examples:

Jennifer is one of those people who think salt is spicy.

Jennifer is one of those people who thinks salt is spicy.

Which is correct? [Reread the first line of this post if you’d like a clue.]

Perhaps surprisingly, it’s the first one.

This might feel counterintuitive, especially as we’re accustomed to using singular verbs with no one, someone, anyone.

But in the above example, the relative pronoun (who) refers back to the larger group (people), not to the singular one: “Jennifer is one of those people who think salt is spicy.”

Think of it this way: we’re not saying that Jennifer is the only person who thinks salt is spicy. We’re saying there are people in the world who think salt is spicy (and make their seasoning choices accordingly), and Jennifer is a member of that group.

The same logic is at work in the following examples:

She is one of the few politicians who listen to what we want.

Cake is one of the first things that come to mind when you say birthday party.

Mr Wu is one of those teachers who make learning fun.

Modern style books and grammar guides overwhelmingly support the plural usage, noting that who or that in this kind of sentence takes its number from the nearest noun (politicians, things, teachers in the above examples)

The reason becomes apparent when we flip the sentence structure on its head:

Of the few politicians who listen to what we want, she is one.

Of the first things that come to mind when you say birthday party, one is cake.

Of those teachers who make learning fun, Mr Wu is one.

Unnatural sounding, yes, but the point is made. If we were to rephrase the first example as “Of the few politician, she is one who listens …” we’d be implying that all politicians (of which there are only a few) listen to the people (I mean). Neither point is suggested by the original sentence.

Of course, don’t confuse this with sentences in which who refers directly to one:

This is the one that matters the most.

Lucy? Oh, she is the one who has eight stuffed parakeets in her office.

Just remember: in “one of those who/that” constructions, let the group (not the singular member) guide your verb choice. And when in any doubt, recast!