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Guest Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
A number
How is it correct: "a number of people have done this" or "a number of people has done this"?
I would think that as long as the subject of the sentence is singular ("a number") then the predicate (has/have), should be singular, rather than plural. However, English is not my first language, and I really need some competent advice on this issue. Thanks a lot
I would think that as long as the subject of the sentence is singular ("a number") then the predicate (has/have), should be singular, rather than plural. However, English is not my first language, and I really need some competent advice on this issue. Thanks a lot
Top answer
a number is plural (have) the number is singular (has), however funny could it seems
- a number is plural (have) the number is singular (has), however funny could it seems
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3 Answers
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a number is plural (have)
the number is singular (has), however funny could it seems
the number is singular (has), however funny could it seems
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Of course "have done" is right. "a" isnt meaned as a singular word. When u say "a number of people" u mean a group. So "have" is right.
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You're right. The subject of the sentence is "number", not "people". "People" follows the preposition "of". Any word that follows a preposition will never be the subject of a sentence. And trust me, I teach high school where English is their native language and a number of people have made this mistake before.
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