Is manhattan correct on these ?????

[ronniecoleman]

A majority of railway commuters reads and listens to music.


Now we are not saying railway commuters majority..which is singular
but a group of people from the large group...

I guess we should have read and listen


Inputs?


Doubt 2:

This is somewhat not a doubt, but i am confident this is wrong ..

Manhattan says:
The manager's obstinate and surly attituede prevented his staff from befriending him...

Him is object pronoun and cannot refer to a possessive pronoun

am i going right ?


Manhattan guys!! please throw some light!!

[ronniecoleman]

Iamcste, Logitech, PC , Cramya........

common guys!! Help

[logitech]

A majority of railway commuters reads and listens to music.

This is a group of people, acts as a compound subject and it is preceded by A - so SINGULAR


The manager's obstinate and surly attituede prevented his staff from befriending him...

Him is object pronoun and cannot refer to a possessive pronoun

It actually CAN

BUT he can not refer to a POSSESSIVE PRONOUN

https://www.beatthegmat.com/word-placeme ... s%20stacey

[ronniecoleman]

A majority of railway commuters reads and listens to music.

This is a group of people, acts as a compound subject and it is preceded by A - so SINGULAR


The manager's obstinate and surly attituede prevented his staff from befriending him...

Him is object pronoun and cannot refer to a possessive pronoun

It actually CAN

BUT he can not refer to a POSSESSIVE PRONOUN

https://www.beatthegmat.com/word-placeme ... s%20stacey

What about this?

A majority of students in the class are good.

[logitech]

[q

What about this?

A majority of students in the class are good.

Majority of the students ARE
A majority of the students IS

[iwg770]

It should be plural, Look at the below link it indicates that
'A majority of' when referring to individuals is plural.

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/the ... t4227.html

[logitech]

:roll: I don't know what to believe anymore...

[iamcste]

Simplest way I go about "Majority"

Consider it to be "number"

A number of =Plural

( since ulitimately Majority is also a number)

The number of =singular

Regarding Possessive noun and pronoun antecedent, GMAC has faced severe criticism and hence there are least chances for this rule to be tested

This has been mentioned in MG Edition 3

[parallel_chase]

Simplest way I go about "Majority"

Consider it to be "number"

A number of =Plural

( since ulitimately Majority is also a number)

The number of =singular

Regarding Possessive noun and pronoun antecedent, GMAC has faced severe criticism and hence there are least chances for this rule to be tested

This has been mentioned in MG Edition 3

what about this then

A majority of railway commuters reads and listens to music.

is this correct or it should be read and listen

and if we dont have any article usage like here is it correct to say

Majority of the students ARE

thanks

[iamcste]

PC check the MGMAT forum link given by one of the posts above

The answer lies in the same

[iamcste]

It seems Edtion 2, Edition 3 contradict the informations provided

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/pos ... html#21596

Hence, I have raised this concern in MGMAT forums and lets track this to resolution


Iamcste

[umaa]

A majority is plural.

What about the second doubt? I'm little confused. I think HIM is wrong here

[sanjaysmart]

OK guys- here is some stuff that will hopefully clarify all the confusion:

a. When 'majority' takes the singular determiner 'a' and a plural noun then the verb must be plural. Ex: A majority of the members are going to vote the president out.

b. When 'majority' takes the singular determiner 'a' but no noun, then the verb is expected to be singular. Ex: A majority wants the president to quit.

C. When 'majority' takes the determiner 'the', then the noun must be plural but the verb singular. Ex: the majority of members is going to support the president.

D. When 'majority' takes the determiner 'the' but no noun, the verb must be singular. Ex: The majority is expected to turn up tomorrow.
Please see the attached PP file for lots of confusing subject verb agreements.
Not all of these however, may be relevant to the GMAT.
Cheers

[iamcste]

It seems Edtion 2, Edition 3 contradict the informations provided

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/pos ... html#21596

Hence, I have raised this concern in MGMAT forums and lets track this to resolution


Iamcste

Thanks for throwing this back to me, giving me a chance to correct my mistake. Here goes:

On their own, "a majority" is typically plural and "the majority" is typically singular.
Of this year's graduating class, a majority will attend college. (plural)
The majority rules. (singular)

However, when “majority” is followed by a modifier, usually of the form “of things,” that rule of thumb does not apply. That was my mistake above.

Here are the correct sentences:

The majority of students are smart.
A majority of students are smart.
The majority of physics students are smart.
A majority of physics students are smart.
{In other words, “a” or “the” doesn’t matter in this case. The verb should match the plural “students.”}

A majority of railway commuters read or listen to music while traveling.
The majority of railway commuters read or listen to music while traveling.
{Plural verbs to match plural “commuters.”}

I'll quote myself here:

The majority of students is smart.
The majority of physics students is smart.
(Those sound weird to me, frankly. I prefer "The student majority is smart" but since "student majority" is the same thing as "majority of students," the above is correct.)

The fact that it sounded weird should have been a clue! Notice that my ear told me that the only way to use a singular verb is to rearrange so that "the (student) majority" was not followed by an "of" prepositional phrase! That's the only way you can rely on the rule that "the majority" is singular.

One exception: "the majority" may require a plural verb even when not followed by an "of things" IF an "of things" is implied earlier in the sentence.
The customers of Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe have voted, and the majority prefer waffle cones.
(It is implied that "the majority of customers prefer...."

In summary:
a majority" by itself-->plural
"the majority" by itself--> usually singular, unless an "of things" modifier is implied earlier in the sentence.
""the/a majority of things"-->plural, like the things

[ronniecoleman]

OK guys- here is some stuff that will hopefully clarify all the confusion:

a. When 'majority' takes the singular determiner 'a' and a plural noun then the verb must be plural. Ex: A majority of the members are going to vote the president out.

b. When 'majority' takes the singular determiner 'a' but no noun, then the verb is expected to be singular. Ex: A majority wants the president to quit.

C. When 'majority' takes the determiner 'the', then the noun must be plural but the verb singular. Ex: the majority of members is going to support the president.

D. When 'majority' takes the determiner 'the' but no noun, the verb must be singular. Ex: The majority is expected to turn up tomorrow.
Please see the attached PP file for lots of confusing subject verb agreements.
Not all of these however, may be relevant to the GMAT.
Cheers

sanjaysmart!!

That is one hell of a resource!!!
Thanks a lot!