In Numbers^x, Singular verbs^x

Hamza wrote:Which is the correct construction? A number of people like ice-cream. A number of people likes ice-cream. I was confused because if we are talking about number than it should be likes.. Right???Use a plural verb after "A number of ... " Use a singular verb after "The number...

Maple wrote:There are bugs in English grammar systems while handing number problems, as I observed, but as for this very sentence, I vote for know. Hi, I'd personally say I'm one of those kids who think, too. I only wanted to say that, if native speakers and writers choose to use both and...

Sooris wrote:I thought these collective nouns will take singular verbs. " A herd (of x) is .. A group ( is ...) etc except when you are referring to the individual animals of the group.If a group of words, especially a partative group, conveys the idea of plurality, a number of individuals, the...

Ms. Birch has been working for the Internet provider which is now involved in a case of leaking customer information. Lcchang asks: Can I use 'who' instead of 'which' if I view the Internet provider as 'people' ? I was thinking of the Internet provider as a company. That's why I said it could...

Thank you very much for your replies. It seems that the sentence should start with words like 'All', 'Every' or 'None' to show general truth, followed by 'except' to single out the odd-man-out. Are there any other such words? I have another related question (sorry) about the number for...

TaraC wrote: Thanks so much for the very clear response. Do you mind if I ask you one more question? What about the following sentence, when someone uses "one of..." to start the sentence. I have a book called "The Elements of Style" and is says not to use the singular verb form when using...

Hi, A verb must agree with its subject in number and person. What does `in number and person' mean in the above sentence? in number means a singular subject requires a singular verb, eg 'He cooks', 'They cook'. in person refers to 1st./2nd./3rd.person eg 'I cook', 'You cook', 'He/she/it...

Ant_222 wrote:«I wonder, does "a number of people has" disrupt ny reading flow? (If it doesn't, I wouldn't know, would I?)» So, does it or not?I don't remember any case where where I noticed "a number of" + singular verb, so I *think* it doesn't disrupt my reading flow. But I don't know...

Let me quote from 'Fowler's Modern English Usage'. The expression a number of + plural noun as in a number of people NORMALLY takes a plural verb in both BrE and AmE, because the plural noun is regarded as the 'head' of the noun phrase and therefore as the real subject: A number of books by...

Number. Like other collective nouns number may take either a singular or a plural verb. Unlike most of them, it admits of a simple and logical rule. When all that it is doing is forming part of a composite plural subject, it should have a plural verb, as in: A large number of people are...