One of .. is or One of ... are

[David1999]

Which one is correct?

One of the expenses which is restricted for deduction is ....

One of the expenses which are restricted for deduction is ....

[Alan]

Hi David,

This is a case of either defining or non-defining relative pronouns. The first has no comma before it and the second does have a comma.

One of the expenses which is restricted for deduction is .... In this sentence 'which' refers back to 'one' and defines that particular 'one'.

One of the expenses, which are restricted for deduction, is .... In this sentence 'which' has to be preceded by a comma and is a so called non-defining relative pronoun that introduces extra information and is in a way to be looked at as if it is in brackets .

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Cerberus™]

There is something about the first sentence that sounds odd to me, but I can't quite put my finger on it - does anyone agree?

One of the expenses which is restricted for deduction is a gift to charity. (I added an actual expense to make the sentence easier to 'handle'.)
- For a relative clause of the defining kind, "that" is nearly always preferred to "which".
- If it is defining, "one ... that" is odd here without the definite article: I'd have expected "the one of the expenses that is restricted" or, better, "the expense that is restricted"; as it stands, it doesn't really seem to be a defining clause.
- "The one ... that" wouldn't really fit here, since "the one of the expenses that is restricted for deduction is ..." is in general inferior to "the expense that is restricted for deduction is ...".

Even so, I cannot say that the sentence is wrong. But what about the alternatives below: are they not more natural? I added a question to provide a plausible context for the sentence.

Q: Which of the expenses made by my company are restricted for deduction?
A: Well, let's see. [Looks at a list of income and expenses.] Of the expenses, one that is restricted for deduction is this gift to charity. Another one is an investment in the company itself.

Q: Which of the expenses made by my company are restricted for deduction?
A: One of the expenses that are restricted for deduction is a gift to charity. Another one is an investment in the company itself.

Q: Which of the expenses made by my company are restricted for deduction?
A: One expense that is restricted for deduction is a gift to charity. Another one is an investment in the company itself.

For good measure, why not replace "which is restricted for deduction" with "whose deduction is restricted (to x)" or "for which deduction is restricted (to x)"?