In most regions there is more than one noticeable accent

Am I right in thinking that the verb “is” in the above sentence corresponds to the number of the noun that comes after the verb in spite of the expression “more than one,” which denotes plurality?

I found the following sentences:
“More than one person is involved in this.”
“More persons than one are involved in this.”
(Taishukan’s Fresh Genius English-Japanese Dictionary)

haha – you’ve got both “one” and “accent” (singular) so pretty hard for natives to throw an “are” into the mix here and have it sound right, even though it would make more sense.

[Suspect all too hard for native English speakers to get past those types of singular words without wanting to butcher an “is” into the equation.]

I actually think it is “accent” (singular) that does this.

“In most regions there are multiple accents” sounds right. “In most regions there is more than one accent” sounds right. “In most regions there are more than one accent” sounds all wrong. “In most regions there are one or more accents” sounds ok.

1 Like