Is it "1 in 10 people are" or "1 in 10 people is"?

I do not know, but I am really curious to look into this.

“one in ten people is”

You’re talking about “one”. You wouldn’t say “One in a hurry are”, would you?

I suppose the correct grammar would be “one in ten people is” because if you eliminated “in ten people”, your statement would read “One is pregnant/high/funny…”

Just as you would say, “No one is perfect” (as opposed to “No one are perfect.” )

It depends on the rest of the sentence.

One in ten is a minority.

One in ten are skilled enough to do the job.

I would go with “one in ten people are,” because it sounds more natural, and because the phrase is actually a figure of speech which is referring to a statistic, 10% of people (plural), rather than referring to one specific person among a group of ten. If you used the phrase to describe how one in ten brothers made his way to fame, it would be singular.

In One in ten is a minority one acts as some kind of noun. Who is a minority (the object)??? One is!! (the noun). Since one is singular its is

One in ten people smoke pot people is the noun, one is just an adj modifying people. Who smokes the pot (the object?). People do!! Since people are plural its are

@DrBill; I would use “is” in the second phrase as well.

The “1” is the subject of the sentence, not the “10 people”, so the singular verb is used.

In the UK, though, unlike the United States, a group of something is considered one unit for purposes of grammar and a sentence thus constructed also would use the singular verb: The Beatles is the biggest-selling group in UK recording history.

The subject is “one.” “In ten people” is a prepositional phrase. The object of a preposition can’t be the subject of the main verb. This is a singular construction: the main subject and verb are “one is.”

The ear can be fooled by the proximity of the plural “people,” but grammatically you have an unambiguously singular subject.

[Edit] Steve6 is correct about DrBill’s examples: “is” in both cases.

@DrBill, is in both of your examples.

@aprilsimnel What does the UK know about the English language, anyway? Sheesh! ;-) ~~

Another way to say it is “One person in ten is….” The correct form of the verb is easier to hear that way, and the construction is the same.

I’m wrong; It’s “is.”

Although my philosophy is 100% sound (that’s ten out of ten people), in grammar, regularity will always conquer logic. I would still probably use “are” in this instance, anyway, because I think using the phrase, “one in ten people,” can only make sense from a statistical standpoint (taking into account the entirety of said people), but what can I say, my style is loose.

Let it fly. Why not, then, by your reasoning, “my style are loose.” Grammar (and usage) is not a question of regularity vs. logic or statistics but what is currently acceptable and clear to most readers.

@gailcalled How about “My grammer are bad”. Guess that just proves the point.

Here, remember that I am (is?) the Grammar or the step-grammar.

@gailcalled I’d go with “I be”.

Why not, then, “me be”?

@gailcalled Me be down with that.

@gailcalled Methinks that be fine.

To differentiate:
One of the ten people is… (Speaking of a specific group. One person.)
One of of ten people are… (Speaking of percentages. Many people.)

To answer the question:
One in ten people are… (Speaking of percentages. Many people.)

(I agree with Ownage.)

Out of ten people, one is. No matter what the one or the ten represents.

Removed because I’ve just confused myself.

Okay. Let’s try that again.
Had to take a moment to unravel my thoughts.
Hopefully I’ll make more sense the second time around.

Logically, it looks like “one” is the noun and so the verb should be “is”.
But that seems to go against the rule of thumb about stripping things down
to find the main noun/person/place/thing that is doing the verb/action.

Example 1: “One of the ten people is…”
“One” is the noun because “of the ten people”
is easily omitted or replaced while keeping the same meaning.

“One is…”
“One of them is…”
“One of the brothers is…”

Example 2: “People” is the noun because “one of ten”
is easily omitted or replaced while retaining the same meaning

“People are…”
“Some people are…”
“Ten percent of people are…”

Example 3: If “One of ten people is…” were correct,
“of ten people” should be easily omitted or replaced while retaining the same meaning.

“One of ten people prefers Brand X.”
“One prefers Brand X.”

If you are speaking of percentages, the second statement is not true.
The second statement is only true if you are speaking of a particular group of 10 people.

@Nimis is confusing grammar with logic.

The grammar of this is perfectly logical. Rules of thumb about stripping things down are an aid but not a substitute for understanding the structure.

Nine people are happy.
Ten people are good gardeners.
One out of ten people is unhappy and is also a good gardener.

Hic sunt leones. Here be lions.

Nimis is just confused.

The use of the subjunctive in Latin of the verb to be. I be confused; one out of ten be confused.

… the Latin form “HC SVNT DRACONES” (i.e. hic sunt dracones) on the Lenox Globe[1] (ca. 1503–07). The term appeared on the east coast of Asia. Earlier maps contain a variety of references to mythical and real creatures, but the Lenox Globe is the only known surviving map to bear this phrase..

The classical phrase utilized by ancient Roman and Medieval cartographers used to be HIC SVNT LEONES (literally, Here be lions) when denoting unknown territories on maps.

@Nimis, the one in ten is a proportion, as you correctly observe, and does not necessarily refer to one actual single person. It’s the same as saying “Ten percent are…” or “Ten people out of a hundred are…” When you think of it that way, the “one” more than likely stands for a larger number of people. So you are correct in recognizing that the one represents a plural number.

But grammar is not concerned with all the things that a symbol or value might stand for. In grammatical terms, it makes no difference whether the one really means one or means two million. The word “one” is singular and takes a singular verb.

@Jeruba what about notional agreement? There is widespread usage of both singular and plural verbs in this type of construction (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage page 689–690). Both usages are grammatical.

Thanks @morphail