Sirithvagorien Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
A large number
Hi
Normally, in a sentence like "a large number of people" the following verb would be plural because "people" is. For instance: "A large number of people say that they do not...".
But what about when there is no "of people" in the sentence? I'll give you an example: "A large number say/says that they do not...". Which one is correct then? "Number" is singularis which would make it "says", but the subject in the sentence afterwards is plural "they", so I am not really sure whether it is "say" or "says" in this case.
Can anybody help me?
Thanks!
Normally, in a sentence like "a large number of people" the following verb would be plural because "people" is. For instance: "A large number of people say that they do not...".
But what about when there is no "of people" in the sentence? I'll give you an example: "A large number say/says that they do not...". Which one is correct then? "Number" is singularis which would make it "says", but the subject in the sentence afterwards is plural "they", so I am not really sure whether it is "say" or "says" in this case.
Can anybody help me?
Thanks!
Top answer
), is implied. "
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Number in the sense of a numeral is singular, but, in this case, a group is clearly being referred to by "a large number." Of people (or types of people, such as fans, sports writers, etc.), is implied. The verb should be "say."
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