Quote:
Originally Posted by samhy
Gmw, I see your point but the subject of a sentence and the meaning behind are two different things. That being said, I would probably use the plural when speaking because there isn't much time to think about it, and the singular when writing because the subject stands out quite easily when words are on a paper.
So if I understand you well, going back to my examples you would go for the second one, since obviously there isn't one only reader involved, right?
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I carefully avoided saying which one I thought was right.
My post was merely being picky about the interpretation of "1 in 6" (sorry, MacEachaidh, I was in a picky mood).
Your particular example combines a collective noun ("majority") with a plural noun ("readers") to form the subject of the sentence. This brings the usual rules into conflict:
"The majority agrees " - okay
"The readers agree " - okay
"The majority of readers " - huh?
My interpretation is that "the majority" is a proportion modifier on "readers", leaving "readers" as the relevant noun for selecting the verb - hence I would go with "agree". I even managed to find a source that agrees with me
According to
this source (see rule 9):
Quote:
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With words that indicate portions—percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.
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