Percent (%)

Question

Are these correct? If not, why?1. 10% of the gas money goes to taxes. (Is singular 'money' the subject here? Not '10%' ?)2. 10% of the gas money go to taxes. (So this is wrong?)3. Two of cars are in good condition. (How come 'two' is the subject here ? It is not like sentence #1? How do I determine what is the subject then? Does it depend on the meaning of the sentence?)Thanks.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

In #1 and #2, percent is the grammatical subject. #1 is the standard because money is the notional subject. Percentage itself is a rather vague amalgam of countability and uncountability, I suppose, so that the weight falls upon the notional subject. In #3, two is the subject of course:

Ten percent of the children are hungry. (Ten percent are hungry. One-tenth are hungry.)
Ten percent of the water is polluted. (Ten percent is polluted. One-tenth is polluted.)
Two of the cars are in good condition (Two are in good condition)

The American Heritage Dictionary has this comment:

'•Percent can take a singular or plural verb, depending on how the quantity being described is viewed. Very often what determines the form of the verb is the noun nearest to it. Thus one might say Eighty percent of the legislators are going to vote against the bill or Eighty percent of the legislature is set to vote the bill down. In the second sentence the group of legislators is considered as a body, not as individuals. When percent is used without a following prepositional phrase, either a singular or plural verb is acceptable.'

However, I think that the last statement is misleading. Ten percent is/are can both be acceptable, of course, but context will determine which is acceptable in that situation.

Jack112 · Answer

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Percent (%)

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