Oh, but "collection" is singular, and is the subject, whereas "of ex-presidents" is only the modifier. If you drop the modifier, are you still comfortable? "...the only people that know are the collection we have."
I guess I fell into the trap there. Now I feel very uncomfortable!
No, the subject is "the only people" for which the correct form of the verb is 'are.' And 'collection' is the object. The people that know are the collection of presidents.
Okay, this is why this type of phrase bugs me! I'm never sure what's correct, or why; some things just sound wrong. But that doesn't make them wrong, I realize. There are some that are correct, and I know it, but still sound wrong to me, and many others. For example: "Join Mr. Rogers and me for a walk around the Neighborhood". Many think this should be "Join Mr. Rogers and
I...", but this can be demonstrated as incorrect by removing Mr. Rogers from the equation to reveal "Join I..." which sounds wrong to most people, and is wrong. Although I am no youngster, I missed the era of sentence diagramming, hence my apparent gaps in grammar ability. Your correction, Pook, still sounds wrong to me!
And by the way, why haven't any tennis players dropped dead yet?!?!? For pity's sake, it was 142 (yes, one hundred forty two) degrees on center court yesterday!
