Is this sentence correct ?

Question

" A majority of railway commuters reads or listens to music while travelling "

According to Manhattan GMAT , it is correct . But isn't "majority" here plural ?

UMB · Answer

i have several times seen in different tests that Majority , like minority,Commitee, team and family is treated as singular.

live_and_legendary · Answer

This is an interesting one indeed. I think the key here is the ' A  majority' which indicates singularity and hence the use of 'reads'.

If the sentence were 'People...' then it would end up with the use of 'read'

abhinava · Answer

Another sentence in Manhattan GMAT is
"The majority of students are against the proposal" 
Here "majority" is plural , so why the hell "majority" in the sentence 
" A majority of railway commuters reads or listens to music while travelling " is singular ?

live_and_legendary · Answer

Abhinav,
Can't 'The majority' be treated as singular?
I think A and The are both indicating singularity.

Swagatalakshmi · Answer

This is correct

poochandi · Answer

Majority is one of those words that can either be singular or plural. 

When majority is used to represent a group of individuals it is used in the plural form like "majority of email users  ARE  irritated ...". 

If on the other hand majority is used to describe a collective group then it is singular like "a two-thirds majority  IS  required to pass a bill that is vetoes by the president"

I hope this helps

javed · Answer

Majority can be singular or plural depending upon the quantifier and usage in this case it is singular and hence the sentence is a correct sentence.

Javed.

Cheers!

Is this sentence correct ?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards