In the sentence ‘New York is one of the biggest cities in the world,’ you might wonder why ‘city’ is in plural form. This can be a bit confusing, especially when referring to a single location like New York. In this article, we will explore why this is grammatically correct and how the plural form is used in this context.
1. ‘City’ as a Part of a Group
When we say ‘New York is one of the biggest cities in the world,’ we are referring to New York as part of a group of cities, not as an isolated entity. The phrase ‘one of the biggest cities’ means that New York is being compared to other large cities around the world, and therefore, the word ‘cities’ must be plural to reflect the comparison to multiple cities.
In this case, the plural form emphasizes that New York is one among many other cities that are large in size, population, or importance globally.
2. Understanding the Use of ‘One of’ in English Grammar
The phrase ‘one of’ always refers to one element within a group or set. For example, ‘one of the biggest cities’ refers to a single city that belongs to a larger category, namely, the biggest cities in the world. The plural ‘cities’ is necessary because it highlights that New York is part of a group of cities, not the only city.
It’s a common grammatical structure where ‘one of’ introduces a subset, and the noun that follows ‘one of’ is in the plural form to denote a group or category.
3. Singular and Plural Agreement in Comparisons
In English, when we compare one thing to a larger group, we use the plural form for the category or group. This is why ‘cities’ is plural here. Even though we are specifically talking about New York, we are also implicitly talking about other cities, so the plural form makes sense in this context.
For example, if we said ‘New York is one of the largest countries in the world,’ the word ‘countries’ would be plural because we are comparing New York to other countries, despite the focus on New York itself.
4. Similar Examples in English Usage
Here are a few more examples where the plural form is used in similar contexts:
- ‘Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.’
- ‘Tokyo is one of the largest economies in the world.’
- ‘Mount Everest is one of the highest mountains in the world.’
In each of these examples, ‘cities,’ ‘economies,’ and ‘mountains’ are all plural because they refer to groups of things that are being compared.
5. Conclusion
To summarize, ‘city’ is used in the plural form in the sentence ‘New York is one of the biggest cities in the world’ because New York is being compared to other cities, forming part of a group. This is a common grammatical structure in English that helps clarify comparisons and groupings. Understanding this rule will help you apply it correctly in similar situations.
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