Let me know if any of those [work / works] for you.

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View69 | Reply0 | 2022-11-13 13:29:30 | Show all posts |Read mode
An interesting question came up in yesterday's class about the final sentence of this email.


I wasn't able to give a very convincing answer in class, so I've done a bit of research to dig deeper.

To make sure we're on the same page, the question was:

Which is correct?
  • Please let me know if any of those work for you?
  • Please let me know if any of those works for you?


Experimental results:
As an experiment, I asked a few different native speakers to fill in the missing space. All of them chose "work" and reported option two feels awkward.

What the literature says:
Here's the relevant reference from an English usage book (these kinds of books try to describe the language based on how people really speak or write it):

So, in short, the consensus seems to be:

  • Please let me know if any of those work for you? (Most common usage in both British and American English)
  • Please let me know if any of those works for you? (May be used in formal British English)

Hope that helps!

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