1/2 of the people, why use a plural verb????

[alkaspeltzar]

I think this might be on the lines of collective nouns, but here is the questions.

In the sentence "1/2 of the people are gone", we use a plural verb as if the subject is plural.

IS thtat true? The subject is 1/2, just as in 1/2 a cake. 1/2 means one of two equal parts, so how can it be plural?

IS it becuase in this special case, yes we are talking about 1/2, but it is relating to the collection more than that exact portion, so it has a plural understanding and thus, a plural verb.

I am engineering student, so english is alittle hard for me.

Thanks for all you time and effort. Thanks is advance

[5jj]

Why have you started a new thread? This question is a follow-up to a thread already going, What is the subject "alot of people". Different threads on the same topic can lead to confusion.

[alkaspeltzar]

Well, it was kinda a new continuation and different topic than previously started, so I am sorry, I didn't mean for confusion. I just thought it would be a better idea to try to stick to one topic at a time.

[birdeen's call]

"1/2 of the people" is the subject here. If there are 100 people, then 1/2 of the people is 50 people. 50 people is more than 1, so we use "are". (Even though I just used "is" in my sentence and I believe I didn't make a mistake. Confusing.)

[5jj]

"1/2 of the people" is the subject here. If there are 100 people, then 1/2 of the people is 50 people. 50 people is more that 1, so we use "are". (Even though I just used "is" in my sentence and I believe I didn't make a mistake. Confusing.)

No confusion. You treated "Half of the people" (in inverted commas) as a singular group of words.

"Thirty-three thespians" is difficult for some people to say.