Learn English – “His work(s) in research and teaching [have/has] been”

grammatical-numbergrammaticalityverb-agreement

  1. His work in research and teaching have been …
  2. His works in research and teaching have been…
  3. His work in research and teaching has been …

If I want to express many pieces of his work, not just one piece of work, which one of the above is correct or better?

Best Answer

Of the three you list:

His work in research and teaching has been ...

is the best formulation.

Perhaps:

His work and teaching have been ...

Work in academic context functions as a group noun that reflects all of his works as a single enterprise he has been engaged in, i.e. his lifework.

To say his works assesses each piece as separate and not a contiguous body. So unless his publishing is eclectic I would avoid it.

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