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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Plural or singular?
I was taking a job test and they had this sentence:
"Three-fourths of the employees have completed the survey."
There is either an error in spelling, punctuation, grammar/word usage or no error. I know there is no spelling or punctuation error.
I was baffled because I did not know if it should be 'have' or 'had' because of the "three-fourths". Do you look to what 'three-fourths' is modifying to determine whether it's plural or singular? 'Employees' would be plural, right?
"Three-fourths of the employees have completed the survey."
There is either an error in spelling, punctuation, grammar/word usage or no error. I know there is no spelling or punctuation error.
I was baffled because I did not know if it should be 'have' or 'had' because of the "three-fourths". Do you look to what 'three-fourths' is modifying to determine whether it's plural or singular? 'Employees' would be plural, right?
Top answer
I would say the answer is " no error " here. I see nothing wrong with the sentence as written.
- I would say the answer is " no error " here.
- I see nothing wrong with the sentence as written.
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3 Answers
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I would say the answer is "no error" here. I see nothing wrong with the sentence as written.
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OP here
What if it said:
Three-fourths of the company had completed the survey
What if it said:
Three-fourths of the company had completed the survey
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AnonymousI was baffled because I did not know if it should be 'have' or 'had' because of the "three-fourths".Your bafflement is misplaced. It's a question of 'have' or 'has'. The past ('had') is both singular and plural.
See for the rule for fractions and percents.
CJ
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