Problem with Word2003 grammar

[L. Mohan Arun]

In this sentence
"Together both go after one of the world's most powerful banks which
has been performing illegal financing activities worldwide."

I thought the usage of "has" is correct here But apparently Word 2003
grammar thinks it should be "have"..

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Maybe in the UK, but in the US "have" would be correct only if it said
"banks that have been performing..." A comma after "banks" might help, since
"which" introduces a nonrestrictive clause.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[grammatim]

This is not your English grammar class, but if you punctuate the
sentence properly, Word will probably pass it.

Without a comma after "banks," the relative clause is a restrictive
relative clause defining the immediately preceding noun, which is
plural.

To get the meaning you want, put a comma after "banks," turning the
relative clause into a non-restrictive relative clause, and then if it
contains a singular verb it modifies "one," and if it contains a
plural verb, it modifies "banks."