word choice - Does "the same number of people" behave as singular or plural?


This hurts my eyes to read it and my ears to say it, but the writer stands by item #43



About the same number of people was awarded bachelor's degrees in 2010 as filed for personal bankruptcy (1.6 million).



Is the subject in this sentence singular or plural?



Answer



The heading for paragraph 7 of Harbrace College Handbook, Chapter 6a states,



When regarded as a unit, collective nouns, as well as noun phrases denoting quantity, take singular verbs.
. . .
The number is singular; a number is plural.
"The number of students was small." [The number is taken as a unit.]
"A number of students were taking tests." [A number refers to individuals.]



Their examples indicate that it's different depending on if the number is taken as a unit or refers to individuals. In your case I think it's individuals and should use the plural.


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