What is the difference between 'an increasing number of' and 'increasing numbers of'?
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Updated on
12 Feb 2022
- Japanese
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English (US)
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English (UK)
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French (France)
Question about English (UK)
What is the difference between an increasing number of and increasing numbers of ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between an increasing number of and increasing numbers of ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
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-An increasing number of plays are now being signed.
-Increasing numbers of people elect to work from home nowadays.
Is it similar to the difference between "a lot of" and "lots of"?
Is it OK to replace "an increasing number of" with "increasing numbers of" in the two examples above?
-Increasing numbers of people elect to work from home nowadays.
Is it similar to the difference between "a lot of" and "lots of"?
Is it OK to replace "an increasing number of" with "increasing numbers of" in the two examples above?
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12 Feb 2022
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- English (UK)
The word Number is singular. The word Numbers is plural
The first example should therefore strictly be:
“An increasing number of plays is now being signed.”
But this sounds really awkward and wrong.
The second:
“Increasing numbers of people elect to work from home nowadays.”
This is ok, but here they are implying some statistics. For example you measure the number of people last week and again this week. This gives you two numbers, therefore numbers of people.
The difference is really choice. What do you think sounds good. No one in every day life will think one or other is wrong.
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- English (UK)
The word Number is singular. The word Numbers is plural
The first example should therefore strictly be:
“An increasing number of plays is now being signed.”
But this sounds really awkward and wrong.
The second:
“Increasing numbers of people elect to work from home nowadays.”
This is ok, but here they are implying some statistics. For example you measure the number of people last week and again this week. This gives you two numbers, therefore numbers of people.
The difference is really choice. What do you think sounds good. No one in every day life will think one or other is wrong.
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Was this answer helpful?
- Japanese
@mlryan
Thank you so much for the informative response.
According to the first half of the explanation, I take it that using "are" is (strictly or inherently) grammatically wrong but natural, while using "is" is (strictly or inherently) grammatically correct but sounds unnatural. Am I correct?
Several dictionaries and newspaper articles also use "an increasing number of (Noun-plural form) are." Does this mean that the misuse has already become the correct use?
Thank you so much for the informative response.
According to the first half of the explanation, I take it that using "are" is (strictly or inherently) grammatically wrong but natural, while using "is" is (strictly or inherently) grammatically correct but sounds unnatural. Am I correct?
Several dictionaries and newspaper articles also use "an increasing number of (Noun-plural form) are." Does this mean that the misuse has already become the correct use?
- English (UK)
Yes to both points. It has become very common use, but irritates a “grammar-Nazi”. :)
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- Japanese
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