The Editor’s Manual
Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.
“One in” followed by a number (e.g., “one in five”) is grammatically singular. However, such phrases refer not to one person or thing but to a proportion, and the use of plural verbs is acceptable, although singular verbs are preferred in formal usage.
Pronouns starting with “some” and “any” indicate unspecified things and persons but convey different meanings and points of view in questions, statements, and conditionals.
“Some” and “any” both indicate quantity and are used in questions, statements, and conditionals, where they convey different points of view, assumptions, and expectations.
Collective nouns such as “team” are treated as singular in American but plural in British English. It also depends on whether you want to refer to the group as a whole or to the individual members of the group.
Data can be a plural noun (“the data are”) or a singular mass noun (“the data is”). As a mass noun, it is used much like the word “information.”