Since the noun flowers is plural, the pronoun that is plural and takes a plural verb. In the first sentence, the antecedent of that is flowers. Emily picked the one flower that wasgrowing in the garden.Emily picked all the flowers that were growing in the garden.The second sentence, on the other hand, suggests that two or more committee members will be drafting the proposal together.Ĭompare these two sentences that use the relative pronoun that: The first sentence implies that only one member of the steering committee will be drafting the proposal. Which of the steering committee members are going to draft the proposal?.Which of the steering committee members is going to draft the proposal?.If I were to write “Which of the following sentences is problematic,” I would imply that only one sentence is problematic I would be saying, essentially, “Which one of the following sentences is problematic?” That construction works if only one sentence is problematic, but not if more than one test sentence contains an error. But if the antecedent is singular, the pronoun is also singular and takes a singular verb.

If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun is also plural and takes a plural verb. To know whether a relative pronoun is singular or plural, we must look at its antecedent-the word or words to which it refers. In truth, the relative pronouns which, who, and that can be either singular or plural.

Any plural or singular