большинство + Genitive Plural

The word большинство is a neuter noun. Grammatically, it can take a dependent noun in the genitive plural, the genitive singular (for mass or collective nouns), or stand alone.

When this phrase acts as a subject with a genitive plural noun, you often have two choices for the predicate:

1. Singular Agreement (Formal and Joint Action): The verb takes the neuter singular form (ending in -о in the past tense). This is the standard for official reports, statistics, when the subject is inanimate (like 'votes' or 'opinions'), or when emphasizing that the group acts as a single, unified mass.

• Example: Большинство голосов было отдано за кандидата. (The majority of votes was cast for the candidate.)

2. Plural Agreement (Semantic and Separate Action): The verb takes the plural form. This is preferred in modern Russian when the subject is animate (people/animals) and performing a deliberate, active role, highlighting separate, individual actions by members of the group.

• Example: Большинство студентов решили уйти. (Most students decided to leave.)

Key Nuances:

• Genitive Singular Nouns: If followed by a noun in the genitive singular (e.g., населения, молодёжи), the verb is generally singular, unless the predicate is a plural noun or adjective (as explained in 'Nominal Predicates' below).
• No Noun: If большинство stands alone without a noun, you usually use the singular: Большинство проголосовало 'за'.
• Passive Voice: If the predicate is a short passive participle, singular agreement is the standard, even for animate subjects (e.g., Большинство студентов было отчислено).
• Modifiers of 'большинство': If большинство has its own modifier (e.g., подавляющее, абсолютное), singular agreement is strongly preferred.
• Distance: Greater distance between the subject phrase and the verb (separated by other words) favors plural agreement, while immediate proximity favors singular.
• Relative Clauses: If a relative clause with который (in the plural) follows the subject, the main verb almost always becomes plural.
• Participle Phrases: If a plural participle phrase separates the subject and the verb, the main verb usually becomes plural (e.g., Большинство студентов, участвующих в проекте, сдали экзамен.).
• Multiple Verbs: If there are homogeneous predicates (multiple verbs), plural agreement is usually preferred.
• Word Order: If the verb precedes the subject, singular agreement is strongly preferred (e.g., Пришло большинство студентов.).
• Nominal Predicates: If the predicate consists of a linking verb plus a plural noun or adjective, plural agreement is preferred (e.g., Большинство студентов были новичками.).
• Multiple Dependent Nouns: If большинство governs a list of several nouns in the genitive plural, it heightens the sense of plurality, and the plural verb is preferred (e.g., Большинство рабочих, инженеров и служащих участвуют в проекте.).