Adaanist Grammar Rule #8 | A Number of vs. The Number of
Rule #8: The number of → Takes a singular verb. A number of → Takes a plural verb
Shah Adaan Uzzaman
July 17, 2025
Rule #8
The number of → Takes a singular verb (because it refers to one number).
A number of → Takes a plural verb (because it refers to many items/people).
❌ The number of players are increasing.
✅ The number of players is increasing.
❌ A number of players is training today.
✅ A number of players are training today.
🧨Trap #8: Putting plural nouns after “of”
Starting from Adaanist Grammar Rule #1, we have seen how IBA DU often uses extra words or modifiers to confuse and distract students during the test.
In this case, IBA often puts a plural noun after “a number of” or “the number of”.
And students immediately think that the main verb should be plural. Because IBA lets you believe that the plural noun after “of” is the real subject.
It is not…
The number of questions are increasing. (Wrong!)
The number of questions is increasing.
In this example, you can see that we have used a plural noun “questions” after “the number of” just to trap you.
💥 Examples
Example #1
The number of applicants for the scholarship has / have increased dramatically this year.
✅ The number of → has
Example #2
A number of employees in the company is / are planning to resign due to policy changes.
✅ A number of → are
Example #3
The number of books on this topic is / are surprising given how new the subject is.
✅ The number of → is
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