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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
A maximum of ... IS or ARE?
I shouldn't be confused by this.. but I am!
Which of the following is correct, and why?
A maximum of five people are allowed in each boat
A maximum of five people is allowed in each boat
I think `are' is correct, but I am not 100% confident.
Thank you in advance
Which of the following is correct, and why?
A maximum of five people are allowed in each boat
A maximum of five people is allowed in each boat
I think `are' is correct, but I am not 100% confident.
Thank you in advance
Top answer
As the Anglo-Saxon world is not dependent upon the sometimes aggravating and illogical suggestions of a Language Academy, the English language is very flexible with regard to usage problems like yours. ) are adamant in their views. In quite a few cases, the British favour a plural verb.
- As the Anglo-Saxon world is not dependent upon the sometimes aggravating and illogical suggestions of a Language Academy, the English language is very flexible with regard to usage problems like yours.
- ) are adamant in their views.
- In quite a few cases, the British favour a plural verb.
- For example, I have never heard an English football commentator use a singular verb when referring to a football team: England are up two nil.
- I would use are like you.
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6 Answers
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As the Anglo-Saxon world is not dependent upon the sometimes aggravating and illogical suggestions of a Language Academy, the English language is very flexible with regard to usage problems like yours. Common sense is allowed to prevail and only the very pedantic (sorry, MrP, no offence meant!) are adamant in their views.
In quite a few cases, the British favour a plural verb. For exampl
In quite a few cases, the British favour a plural verb. For exampl
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I agree with the plural in this case. With words that use proportion, like some, most, all, none,etc, it's best to look at the noun of the phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use the plural or singular form of the verb.
--Some of the meat was salty.
--Most of the men were tired.
--Some of the meat was salty.
--Most of the men were tired.
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Thank you both very much.
In fact, I just returned from a long walk, during which I turned the question over and over, and I came to the conclusion that `is' is probably more correct, on the basis that if I reword the sentence to `The maximum number of people allowed in the boat is five', `is' is clearly correct (Is this a legitimate way to work out which is correct?). And similarly, add
In fact, I just returned from a long walk, during which I turned the question over and over, and I came to the conclusion that `is' is probably more correct, on the basis that if I reword the sentence to `The maximum number of people allowed in the boat is five', `is' is clearly correct (Is this a legitimate way to work out which is correct?). And similarly, add
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Anonymous
So, are we saying that both IS and ARE are acceptable in`a maximum of five people is/are allowed in each boat' but that `IS' is more technically correct, even though `ARE' probably sounds better/more natural?
I'm quite interested in how phrases such as `a maximum of', `a variety of', etc should be used, and would be very grateful if anyone could rec
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AnonymousWhich of the following is correct ...?A maximum of five people is allowed in each boat.
You can't get any more singular than A (maximum)!
But you won't be thrown into prison if you use are.
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The pronoun 'is' or 'are' is applied to the subject or the noun preceding the pronoun. For example, "a maximum of 2 documents are displayed" as against "the school of fish is in that river".
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