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Pedants' corner

Help! Which is right?

4 replies

2016IsANewYearforMe · 12/04/2016 14:41

Three is too many.

Or

Three are too many.

Word says the second, but I don't trust it.

OP posts:
Thurlow · 12/04/2016 14:47

Eh? Is, surely!?

CocktailQueen · 12/04/2016 14:49

Is.

2016IsANewYearforMe · 12/04/2016 14:52

Thank you. It sounded wrong to me too, but I lost confidence when the grammar checker told me it was wrong.

I feel much better now. Smile

OP posts:
eatsleephockeyrepeat · 12/04/2016 14:53

The "three" in this case is not referring to three individual things, each of which being "too many" - that doesn't make any sense. In this case the three is a collective noun, which is a single "thing" so to speak.

E.g. "Three are coming today" - each individual one is coming.
...vs... "Three is a crowd" - the one group of three is a crowd.

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