0
English 1b3 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Singular noun or plural--many a people/word...
Many a new word is created in class.
Many a people join every day.
Should many a be followed by a singular or plural noun?
Many a people join every day.
Should many a be followed by a singular or plural noun?
Top answer
Singular. Many a person = many people.
- Singular.
- Many a person = many people.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
7 Answers
0
0
Google books shows 3,000+ hits for many a people. No one got the message it's wrong?
00
Once and for all: there are many illiterates aboard the internet. Do not use Google indiscriminately to determine grammar and vocabulary use.
'Many a people' will work only when 'people' is the singular of 'peoples' (= ethnic groups), as in 'Many a people has succumbed to cultural imperialism', but even then it is a poor choice of wording-- and I doubt anyway that any of those 3000+ we
'Many a people' will work only when 'people' is the singular of 'peoples' (= ethnic groups), as in 'Many a people has succumbed to cultural imperialism', but even then it is a poor choice of wording-- and I doubt anyway that any of those 3000+ we
00
Mister MicawberDo not use Google indiscriminately to determine grammar and vocabulary use.
Duly noted. I remember someone telling me Google Books was a suitable source for such matters, as each book is published and thus rigorously edited. But I'm sure I have come across mistakes. Thanks.
00
I had not thought of using Google Books. That is a good idea. As I've probably told you befoer, when I am doing a careful search (especially of spoken language, which is not in Google Books), I use a reputable corpus like COCA http://corpus.byu.edu.
00
0
Related Questions