"I'm one of those people who dresses according to my mood." - Mischa Barton, in In Touch

Mischa has made an error in subject/verb agreement. She has also used awkward syntax.

A common error in sentences that contain "one of" is the use of a singular verb to agree with "one" instead of a plural verb to agree with the object of the preposition "of." Mischa's statement includes the phrase "one of those people who dresses." The singular verb "dresses" improperly agrees with "one"; it should agree in number with the plural noun "people."

Rearrange the words of Mischa's statement to get a better understanding of the error.

• Of those people who dresses according to my mood, I am one.

This syntax demonstrates that the verb "dresses" does not agree in number with the subject "people." To correct the error, change the number of the verb.

The rearranged syntax highlights Mischa's awkward syntax. She uses the pronoun "my" to refer to the mood that dictates how people dress. Mischa's choice of words implies that other people dress according to her own mood. Mischa's fashion statements may in fact influence how other people dress, but it is unlikely that they choose what to wear based on how she is feeling at any given moment. Changing the pronoun from one that refers to Mischa to one that refers to "people" would make the meaning of her statement more logical.

This version of Mischa's statement corrects the agreement error and avoids the awkward syntax:

"I'm one of those people who dress according to their moods."

Notice that "mood" has been changed to the plural "moods" to reflect that each person has his or her own mood.

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