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The Number vs A Number

The expression the number is followed by a singular verb while the expression a number is followed by a plural verb.

Examples:

The number of people we need to hire is thirteen.

A number of people have written in about this subject.

Pop Quiz

Choose the correct word in each sentence.

1. The number of people lined up for tickets was/were four hundred.

2. A number of suggestions was/were made.

3. There is/are a number of important announcements in the bulletin.

4. Here is/are the number of milk shakes you requested.

Pop Quiz Answers

1. The number of people lined up for tickets was four hundred.

2. A number of suggestions were made.

3. There are a number of important announcements in the bulletin.

4. Here is the number of milk shakes you requested.

Posted on Thursday, December 9th, 2010 at 9:01 am

6 Comments

6 Responses to “The Number vs A Number”

  1. sherlyn says:
    June 2, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    Its great that you have published such knowledge. I just hope these are all reliable. It would be better if you also include in your page the references that you are using. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Jane says:
      June 3, 2011 at 2:21 pm

      We have derived and refined our rules over the years from many textbooks on grammar and punctuation and have kept up with the evolving changes to the English language by consulting authoritative reference works such as The Chicago Manual of Style and The Associated Press Stylebook. Including references for every rule would detract from the intent of presenting rules and examples in a simple, easy to understand, and tempting to use format.

      Reply
  2. masudsaifurs says:
    August 3, 2011 at 6:21 am

    Thanks Jane.

    Reply
  3. Tanish goel says:
    February 7, 2012 at 10:52 am

    Hi, You’re doing a very good work by writing these useful articles. Can you tell me out of these two sentences, ” it’s me” and “its i” , which is a correct one? Do we use “me” or “i” in these kind of sentences?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Jane says:
      February 8, 2012 at 9:08 pm

      Our blog “I vs. Me” addresses this question. The rule says, “Use a subject pronoun following state of being verbs such as am, are, is, was, were.” However, the blog also notes the important distinction between spoken and written language. The formal, written response would be, “It is I.” However when spoken informally, one would be more likely to say, “It’s me.”

      Reply

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