Is ‘majority’ singular or plural? The word “majority” can be either singular or plural, depending on whether we are talking about a group or collection of individuals or the individuals in a group. If we use the word to describe a group of individuals we can treat it as a singular noun and if we use the word to describe individuals we can treat it as a plural noun as in the following examples:
• A majority of the teaching community is dedicated to work.
• A majority of the police force in India is corrupt.
• A majority of the software professionals employed in IT firms are stressed.
• A majority of the employees do not want to work on Saturdays.
In the first two examples, since the noun phrases ‘the teaching community’ and ‘the police force’ are collective groups (singular), the noun ‘majority’ in the sentences takes a singular verb whereas in the last two sentences, the noun phrases ‘the software professionals” and “the employees” are a collection of individuals (plural) and so ‘majority’ takes a plural verb.
When ‘majority’ is not followed by ‘of+a noun phrase’, it takes a singular verb as in these examples:
• An 80 per cent majority wants a re-election.
• A 65 per cent majority is against the implementation of the rule.
• He wants to push Obamacare down the throats of the American public when the majority is against it.
‘Majority’ means the greater number and can be applied only to numbers. It cannot be used to mean ‘larger part of something’. So, it is incorrect to say:
• Majority of the book is boring.
• I ate the majority of the pudding.
‘Majority’ can be used only with countable nouns: His children took the majority of the chocolates. It is incorrect to use it with uncountable nouns so it is incorrect to say: Suresh ate the majority of the rice. Instead, we should say: Suresh ate most of the rice. But according to www.oxforddictionaries.com, ‘majority’ can be used with uncountable nouns to mean the ‘greatest part’ as in I spent the majority of the day reading. The website states the sentence “is not considered good standard English, although it is common in informal contexts”.
Does ‘many’ take a singular verb?
Many is normally plural, but it takes a singular verb when a singular noun follows the phrase “many a” as in the following examples:
• Many a teacher has taken the eligibility test.
• Many a student wants to go to Goa during Christmas vacation.
• Many an interesting movie is available for free download.
The phrase “many a” is always followed by a singular noun though the meaning is plural.
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk