Agreement after Partitive Expressions

Level 5

Partitive quantity subjects can allow singular or plural agreement according to their construction and interpretation.

How It Works

La majoria dels assistents can be viewed through the singular head majoria or through the plural people counted. Both la majoria dels assistents ha votat and la majoria dels assistents han votat occur in standard usage. Similar choices arise with expressions such as un gran nombre de.

Do not extend this freedom to every collective noun. La gent normally takes singular agreement; it is not grammatically interchangeable with les persones just because both refer to several people.

Keep the interpretation coherent when further predicates follow. A clear formal sentence may be easier to read if rewritten with an ordinary plural subject when the individual members' actions are the main point.

Examples (3)

  1. La majoria dels assistents ha votat.

    Most of the attendees have voted.

  2. La majoria dels assistents han votat.

    Most of the attendees have voted.

  3. La meitat dels alumnes han acabat.

    Half of the students have finished.

How It Connects

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Agreement after Partitive ExpressionsLevel 5

Learn This First

Recognize a coordinated subject before checking the scope of its agreement. Recognize what a quantity modifies before checking its agreement.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.