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(, Sun 1 Apr 2001, 1:00)
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In the original story the subject was fat kids, not statistics
Thing is, either of these reads fine to me;

One in four kids is fat

One in four kids are fat.
(, Thu 18 Apr 2013, 10:49, 2 replies, latest was 12 years ago)
You see, in that sentence, you're singling out the fat kid, right?
That's the "one in" part of the sentence, you're focusing on that child, which makes it the subject. Therefore because it's "one kid", it's singular. Same for "one percent", they're both still one of something.

If it were "four out of ten kids", it would be a plural.

The mistake occurs because people see the "out of four" bit and think they're talking about a group, when they're not.
(, Thu 18 Apr 2013, 10:54, Reply)
"you're singling out the fat kid"
you're not, you're describing a proportion of kids as fat.

"The mistake occurs because people see the "out of four" bit and think they're talking about a group, when they're not."
They are.
(, Thu 18 Apr 2013, 10:57, Reply)
And this, Chompy, is why you're looking like a fool.

(, Thu 18 Apr 2013, 10:58, Reply)
One of those statements is grammatically correct,
....and one are not.
(, Thu 18 Apr 2013, 10:55, Reply)
click!

(, Thu 18 Apr 2013, 11:00, Reply)

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