To learn more about subject and verb agreement, click here.ġ. In this sentence, the object of the preposition is building, which is always singular. The subject is twelve percent, which will be either singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition that follows. Therefore, 25% becomes plural in meaning.Įxample: Twelve percent of the building has/have been renovated. We have already said that people is plural. In this case people is the object of the preposition of. Fractions and percentages, like team and staff, can be either singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition following. Why is 25% of people are correct? The subject of this sentence is 25%.
It might be better to reword the sentence: Nearly 25% of people in the world are Muslim. That intention gets lost by focusing on one is.
Let’s get real here, however: The intention in this headline is to let us know that nearly 25% of the world’s population is Muslim. This means that people is the object of the preposition. In the above sentence, the prepositional phrase is in four people.
However, the subject is one, which is singular and takes a singular verb. People is NOT a collective noun like team or staff. Would you choose is or are in the example below?Įxample (an actual headline from CNN.com): Nearly one in four people worldwide is/are Muslim. If the sentence indicates more individuality, use a plural verb.Įxample: The team are eating with their families tonight. If these nouns are acting as a unit, use a singular verb.Įxample: The team is heading for practice this afternoon. Subject and Verb Agreement with Collective Nounsĭo you use a singular or plural verb to match a collective noun such as team or staff? The answer is, It depends.
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