It's weird because boys is plural and you wouls say are but then a fraction is single so you would say is. I'm baffled!!!!
2006-06-13 11:32:12 · 16 answers · asked by luv_greenday_person 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
the correct answere is "is" because you are referring to the word CLASS in particular and not the word "BOYS" class is a singular word, therefore you should say 3/4 of the class is boys, a singular word takes a singular verb. if you had said " of a class of students 3/4 are boys" then you would use "are" because you would have been referring to the word "boys" which is a plural word. I don't know if you understand fully but that's the correct answer.
2006-06-13 11:40:42 · answer #1 · answered by kimmie 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
"Are" is correct. You are referring to multiple boys, not 3/4 of a single object. If you were referring to, say, a pizza, you'd say "3/4 of the pizza is made with pepperoni," because it is a single object. If you were to flip the sentence around and say "Boys are 3/4 of the class," it becomes more clear. Even though "class" might seem like a singular object, it's really a collection of single objects (children), making it grammatically plural in this case... does that make any sense?
2006-06-13 19:10:35 · answer #2 · answered by Julie B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the sentence above, the subject is 3/4 and it is plural. therefore, the verb must be plural also. "of the class" is a prepositional phrase and "boys" is the object of the sentence.
2006-06-13 19:38:51 · answer #3 · answered by nannymm 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
While your question has baffled me ( I had to read it several times) I'm sure you'd use "are" in that case and not "is". If the statement was "Three-fourths of the class is made up of boys" then you'd use "is". But your way I think you want "are".
2006-06-13 20:15:17 · answer #4 · answered by bookworm 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's best to spell it out and take out the phrases if you are confused:
Three quarters ARE boys.
QUARTERS is plural, therefore you use ARE as the plural for of the verb "to be".
(Let me guess, you slept through high school English? J/K, it's all good.)
2006-06-13 19:56:11 · answer #5 · answered by cara w 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A fraction is not singular. Only one is singular. Besides, in this case you are referring to a group of boys.
2006-06-13 18:36:29 · answer #6 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
are its a plural like more than one so it gets the are from me
2006-06-13 18:50:02 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say "three quarters of the class are boys"
or
"three fourths of the class are boys"
Because it is proper grammar
2006-06-13 18:36:26 · answer #8 · answered by tab42104 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"are" because the subject of the verb is "three" (three what? three fourths!). compare "three out of every four students in the class are boys" with "three out of ever four students in the class is a boy"
2006-06-13 21:42:28 · answer #9 · answered by paul w 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pirrille is absolutely correct.
The class ~is~ all boys. (class is)
Half the class ~is~ boys. (class is)
3/4 of the class ~is~ boys. (class is)
All of the kids in the class ~are~ boys. (kids are)
Boys ~are~ 3/4 of this class. (boys are) But I don't like this sentence. :-)
2006-06-13 23:19:48 · answer #10 · answered by LazlaHollyfeld 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋