50 percent is/are

[palinkasocsi]

Dear Friends,

Which is correct:

50 percent of the people is/are ... . If both, what is the difference?

Thanks a lot.

Palinkaocsi

[OddThomas]

When you use a collective noun that contains individual members you consider as separate, then plural verb forms are correct. Otherwise, use a singular verb form. When you are discussing the unit of measure itself, you may use the singular.

Examples:
50% of the people are quite angry with the latest increase in water rates. Here we are thinking of many individual people.

50% of the people is quite a good turnout for a referendum on a matter as minor as this. Here we are considering either the unit of measure, or the voting group, either one of which is a singular item.

Sometimes we just don't know: 50% of the people is/are all this radio station's signal can reach because of the mountains. Are the people individuals, and therefore they require plural are? Or, are the people a statistical distribution, and therefore they require singular is? My advice is, if you can't ask a native speaker, take a position and be consistent throughout the document in which sentences of this sort occur.

[Bridget]

See this:

50% of the people/they are quite angry...
50% of the people/that/it is quite a good turnout...

The first sentence refers to the people and the second to the turnout (i.e. the action of turning out).

Here:

50% of the people/they are all this radio station's signal can reach because of the mountains.
50% of the people/it all this radio station's signal can reach because of the mountains.

"It" = the action of reaching 50% of the people.

I think these are better examples of what OT is trying to get at.

IBM is/are losing money fast.
Manchester United is/are the only...

[palinkasocsi]

Thanks OddThomas and Bridget!

And Bridget. OddThomas' examples are at least as good as yours. :p

Palinkasocsi