By Singular verbs, Numbers

.It seems an awkward word choice here, and I would avoid it except for its more standard uses (as in vote counting). However, I suppose that where it means 'a number of' it would take a plural verb, and where it means 'the number of', it would take a singular verb.

http://www.bartleby.com/68/47/4047.html: Neither is paired with nor as either is with or, and in those uses as conjunctions they pose usage problems of agreement. Usually they will take a singular verb if both parts of the structure are singular, as in Neither he nor his friend is ready, and if...

Marius Hancu wrote:Seven years -> have but you'll see both. However: It's going to be the best Christmas ever because this year I have done everything myself and the horrible atmosphere of the last seven years has lifted. I agree with Marius. In English the grammatical number...

PS: It occurs to me that "a number of" + singular verb doesn't sound "odd" if "number" is qualified, e.g. 1. There is only a very small number of tickets available. 2. There is a limited number of possible outcomes. MrP

Hello HT, Hoa Thai wrote: My old note stated: 'a number of ' is plural and 'the number of' is singular.We can apply this logic of yours to 'a number of ' too, right? 1. ?There is a number of reasons why my post may be misleading. 2. There are a number of reasons why my post may be...

Hi, sorry I missed this: In number one it should be "No one KNOWS", using singular verb form with singular noun. In number thirteen, there's nothing wrong with "over all the world", but people usually say, "all over the world." - A.

Hi, sorry I missed this. In number one, it should be "no one KNOWS", using the singular verb form with the singular noun. I saw it but forgot to write it down. (If I used the colors like I'm supposed to I wouldn't have missed it.) Hope it didn't cause you any problems. A.

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...