The expressions half of and none of may take either a singular or a plural verb when the noun they modify is countable.
When the noun is uncountable, use the singular verb.
The expression the majority of takes a plural verb if the following noun is a collection of individuals.
The expression a number of means several, it takes a plural verb.
Remember, however, that the number of, because it refers to a specific number, always takes a singular verb.
 | Half of the class has signed up for Qualitative Analysis II. |
| Half of the class have signed up for Qualitative Analysis II. |
| None of our graduates has had problems getting a grant. |
| None of our graduates have had problems getting a grant. |
When the noun is uncountable, use the singular verb.
| Half of their funding was spent on software. |
| None of this energy is renewable. |
The expression the majority of takes a plural verb if the following noun is a collection of individuals.
| The majority of our graduates have had no problem getting a grant for further studies. |
The expression a number of means several, it takes a plural verb.
| A number of applications are still to come. |
Remember, however, that the number of, because it refers to a specific number, always takes a singular verb.
| At a total of just six, the number of applications this year is small compared to last year’s twenty-five. |
Recommended citation:
«Partitive expressions» [en línia]. A: Llibre d’estil de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics. <https://www.ub.edu/llibre-estil/criteri.php?id=2424> [consulta: 21 novembre 2024].