a group of people is/are

The truth of the matter is that a native is liable to say either. I would suggest:

A group of people is coming tonight. (the group as a unit is pursuing a goal)
A group of people are fighting in the street. (individuals within the group against each other)

Hi MM,

Are you saying that it is both said and written as such?

A group of people is coming tonight?

A group of people are coming tonight?

Then, is it also the case for these?

There is a group of people there.

There are a group of people there.

(to me, the second sentence doesn't sound right (do I need a comma her

No-- the group is coming (as a unit) is correct. But natives are still liable to say either, I think, in the heat of the moment.

I'd add a comma.

A (limited) number of is a phrasal quantifier, like a few. There are.

people is a plural word and therefore you would say 'people are coming'

a group of people are coming

this is the correct term.

.
No, both are correct. Please read the thread and check your grammar book, Anon.
.

I am almost positive there is a thoughtful discussion of this in the MW dict of Eng usage, but I can't figure out what heading it might be under. Any help? I need an authoritative source to validate my claim to a coworker that both are correct.

I tried looking under
noun
verb
plural
singular
mass
unit
group
conjugate
modifier

I wish it were ea

update to above post: it's under "agreement, subject-verb." thanks!

Anonymous I need an authoritative source to validate my claim to a coworker that both are correct.

Hi,

You might consider citing the The American Heritage® Book of English Usage.

Group as a collective noun can be followed by a singular or plura

The verb should agree with the subject, which in this case is "A group of People" singular, just one group.

#3. A group of people IS coming.

#3 is the correct answer. The verb must agree with the subject, and the subject of the sentence is "group." "People" is a part of the prepositional phrase "of people."