VIGHNESHKAMATH
reply2spg
Since 1986 enrollments of African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans in full-time engineering programs in the United States has steadily increased, while the number of other students who enter the field has fallen.
(A) has steadily increased, while the number of other students who enter the field has fallen
(B) has steadily increased, while other students entering the field have declined in number
(C) increased steadily, while there was a decline in the number of other students entering the field
(D) have steadily increased, while the number of other students entering the field has fallen
(E) have steadily increased, while that of other students who enter the field fell
In option D, shouldn't we say ''the numbers have fallen'', since we are comparing enrollments (numbers)?
Hello
VIGHNESHKAMATH,
We hope this finds you well.
To answer your query, in the phrase "number of of other students", the plural noun "students" conveys the plural nature of the noun being referred to, so "number" is not supposed to be plural; in fact, "numbers" would be incorrect, as it would imply multiple distinct numbers of students - that is, different quantities of different types of students.
We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team