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Singulier/pluriel
Message de f30 posté le 30-09-2011 à 22:26:34 (S | E | F)
Bonjour,
je souhaiterais savoir si avec handful on met le pluriel ou le singulier, y a t-il une règle car j'ai vu les deux?
There ARE a handful of adults
There IS a handful of people
d'avance merci
Fred
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Modifié par lucile83 le 30-09-2011 22:28
Message de f30 posté le 30-09-2011 à 22:26:34 (S | E | F)
Bonjour,
je souhaiterais savoir si avec handful on met le pluriel ou le singulier, y a t-il une règle car j'ai vu les deux?
There ARE a handful of adults
There IS a handful of people
d'avance merci
Fred
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Modifié par lucile83 le 30-09-2011 22:28
Réponse: Singulier/pluriel de lucile83, postée le 30-09-2011 à 23:14:21 (S | E)
Hello,
Je pense que le pluriel est plus logique bien qu'on rencontre le singulier parfois.Voici un commentaire du NYTimes
Lien Internet
Reader Question
Two weeks ago, my response to a reader question began, "A handful of adjectives related to aunts have been recorded in English, though none are as common as the male counterpart, avuncular." David Butwin asks: "Not to be picayunish, but why not: handful has been recorded, no? And none is as common, no?"
Handful is a collective noun of the inanimate variety, much like array, bunch, group, heap, multitude and range. We often use these words before of and a plural noun: "a bunch of blogs," "a heap of problems," "a multitude of medicines." When this form emphasizes the collection of items as a unified group, a singular verb may be appropriate: "There was a bunch of grapes on the table." But when the emphasis is on the individual items in the collection, then it's better to use a plural verb like are or have. The grammar books call this "notional agreement," since the notion of a collective noun can be plural even when its formal grammatical marking is singular.
Sharp-eyed readers will detect notional agreement for handful and its collective kin all over English literature. Here are a handful of esteemed writers who have taken the notional route for handful: Louisa May Alcott ("A handful of sweeties were reluctantly bestowed"), Robert Louis Stevenson ("A handful of archers are but now come to the ferry"), Philip Roth ("A handful of bathers were bobbing about in the waves") and Thomas Pynchon ("The handful of men have a frosty appearance").
Réponse: Singulier/pluriel de pgr, postée le 01-10-2011 à 14:51:57 (S | E)
Bonjour,
Les 2 formes existent sur le web, mais si l'on s'en tient aux sites spécialisés
English Club : Learn English : ESL Forums
Question
Dear Alan
An hour before soccer coach Avramovic led his soccer team onto the field, there was/were only a handful of people about.
Which word in bold should I use?
Thanks.
Answer
'Were'. 'A handful of' is a quantifier phrase that does not determine verbal number.
Lien: Lien Internet
À noter la forme plurielle de handful: handfuls
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Modifié par lucile83 le 01-10-2011 21:44
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