number of players -simple querie.

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number of players -simple querie.

by uptowngirl92 » Sun Jun 28, 2009 7:59 pm
A number of players on the team have improved since last season.

could some one explain how this sentence is correct?"number" is a collective noun and hence should be singular.Should'nt the sentence be: "A number....HAS improved.."?
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by raghavsarathy » Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:06 pm
Let me give this a shot..

Since we are speaking about the improvement of each of the players , we should use the plural "have".

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by shanmugam.d » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:45 am
"The number" = singular where as "A number" = plural

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