Noms collectifs et accord : la plupart, une dizaine, tout le monde

Unité GR-12 · campagne 8 · un mot singulier, un groupe de gens : quel verbe ?

French has a family of expressions that name a group with a grammatically singular word — and the verb does not always follow the grammar. Russian faces the same tension (большинство пришло / пришли), so the instinct exists; what you need are the French conventions, which are stricter than they look.

Two anchors to memorise:

1. La plupart des takes a plural verb. The meaning wins over the singular la plupart: la plupart des étudiants ont réussi, never a réussi. (Only la plupart du temps stays singular, because temps is.)
2. Tout le monde is invincibly singular — despite meaning "everybody". Verb singular, possessive singular: Tout le monde est là. Tout le monde a apporté son propre repas. Using sont or leur here is the classic calque from все пришли.

Between those poles, the round-number collectives (une dizaine de, une centaine de) usually agree with the people, not the container: une dizaine de personnes attendaient. The practice drills the two hard anchors and the plural-attribute cases where only one choice is defensible.

Going further

Minimal pairs. One change between the two sentences, and what it does:

The errors to watch.

From Russian and English. Russian lets большинство take either number (большинство пришло / пришли); French la plupart des + a plural noun, or la plupart alone, takes only the plural. Все пришли is plural, but its French equivalent tout le monde est venu is singular — the classic calque. Каждый and chacun agree: singular.

The complete rule. Plural: la plupart (des), beaucoup, peu, nombre de, used alone or with a plural noun (la plupart pensent que…). Singular: tout le monde, chacun, personne, and plus d'un (despite the meaning). Plural: moins de deux and any number above one. La moitié, la majorité, une dizaine + plural noun: plural usual, singular possible.

Why la plupart des keeps its article is a determiner question — see Qu'est-ce qu'un déterminant ? Le sens de chaque famille.

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