218 To Eric Rogers

[A reply to a letter addressed to 'any Professor of English Language' at Oxford, asking whether it is correct to say 'A number of office walls has been damaged' or 'have been damaged'.]

9 October 1959

76 Sandfield Road, Headington, Oxford

Dear Sir,

Your letter has eventually reached me, though I am not 'any Professor of English Language', since I have now retired. The answer is that you can say what you like. Pedantry insists that since number is a singular noun, the verb should be singular, (has). Common sense feels that since the walls is plural, and are really concerned, the verb should be plural, (have). You may take your choice.

Yours sincerely
J. R. R. Tolkien.