Learn English – Their intention/intentions are vital information

subject-verb-agreementword-choice

Which one should I use in the sentence below?

Their intention/intentions are vital information for us to make a decision.

In this context, I want to express that what other road users intend to do is important.

Best Answer

You should use intentions. "Are" is conjugated for the plural case, requiring the associated noun intention to be plural as well.

But beyond noun-verb agreement, intentions is still the best choice. If the singular form were used, it would mean that all road users share a single, unvarying intention. This is unlikely to fit the intended meaning of the sentence. The plural form allows for different intentions between different road users, as well as for a particular road user having different intentions at different points in time.