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.

Loading the exercise...

Checking your progress...