A number of is indefinite, while the number of is definite.Originally Posted by riderinthestorm
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Thread: Singular or Plural?
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#1 25-Jun-2009, 17:46Singular or Plural?
In the "Singular or Plural" test on this site I have found two questions to be very confusing. Q10 - 'A number of is followed by a _______verb' (Ans. Plural) & Q11 - 'The number of' is followed by a _______ verb' (Ans. Singular).
What is the difference, I still havent been able to figure this one out!
Regards,
Syed
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#2 25-Jun-2009, 18:11Re: Singular or Plural?
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#3 25-Jun-2009, 22:57Re: Singular or Plural?
"A number of" means more than one. Originally Posted by riderinthestorm
A number of people are going to see that report.
"The number of" is eventually followed by an actual number or by a descriptive term. In either case it takes a singular verb, usually "is".
The number of people going to see that report is (five)(small)(unknown).
The above is a short summary, and there may be some exceptions.
