Counting nouns using “slew” and the grammatical implications

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Just having a lively debate with a content writer over whether we should say

There are a slew of reasons...

or

There is a slew of reasons...

Read this article which suggests that different words are treated differently in this situation, so I'm wondering if slew would behave more like number, as in, There are a number of reasons, or if it would be more like group, as in There is a group of people that believe....

Any thoughts on how one can decide for a word like slew?

Possible duplicate of:
a number of vendors is/are?
Is the sentence "There is a large number of labourers who want to migrate to Japan for work." correct?

grammar verb-agreement collective-nouns

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edited 1 hour ago

Barmar

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nerdlinger

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up vote
1
down vote

favorite

Just having a lively debate with a content writer over whether we should say

There are a slew of reasons...

or

There is a slew of reasons...

Read this article which suggests that different words are treated differently in this situation, so I'm wondering if slew would behave more like number, as in, There are a number of reasons, or if it would be more like group, as in There is a group of people that believe....

Any thoughts on how one can decide for a word like slew?

Possible duplicate of:
a number of vendors is/are?
Is the sentence "There is a large number of labourers who want to migrate to Japan for work." correct?

grammar verb-agreement collective-nouns

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

asked 3 hours ago

nerdlinger

61

New contributor

nerdlinger is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

Just having a lively debate with a content writer over whether we should say

There are a slew of reasons...

or

There is a slew of reasons...

Read this article which suggests that different words are treated differently in this situation, so I'm wondering if slew would behave more like number, as in, There are a number of reasons, or if it would be more like group, as in There is a group of people that believe....

Any thoughts on how one can decide for a word like slew?

Possible duplicate of:
a number of vendors is/are?
Is the sentence "There is a large number of labourers who want to migrate to Japan for work." correct?

grammar verb-agreement collective-nouns

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

asked 3 hours ago

nerdlinger

61

New contributor

nerdlinger is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

Just having a lively debate with a content writer over whether we should say

There are a slew of reasons...

or

There is a slew of reasons...

Read this article which suggests that different words are treated differently in this situation, so I'm wondering if slew would behave more like number, as in, There are a number of reasons, or if it would be more like group, as in There is a group of people that believe....

Any thoughts on how one can decide for a word like slew?

Possible duplicate of:
a number of vendors is/are?
Is the sentence "There is a large number of labourers who want to migrate to Japan for work." correct?

grammar verb-agreement collective-nouns

grammar verb-agreement collective-nouns

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

asked 3 hours ago

nerdlinger

61

New contributor

nerdlinger is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

asked 3 hours ago

nerdlinger

61

New contributor

nerdlinger is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

share|improve this question

edited 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

edited 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

edited 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

9,3531429

asked 3 hours ago

nerdlinger

61

New contributor

nerdlinger is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 3 hours ago

nerdlinger

61

asked 3 hours ago

nerdlinger

61

61

New contributor

nerdlinger is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

New contributor

nerdlinger is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

nerdlinger is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

add a comment | 

1 Answer
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slew is defined at ODO as

A large number or quantity of something.

M-W

a large number

dictionary.com

a large number or quantity

So it's a number, not a group, and therefore gets the plural verb "there are".

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answered 1 hour ago

Barmar

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1 Answer
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1 Answer
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up vote
3
down vote

slew is defined at ODO as

A large number or quantity of something.

M-W

a large number

dictionary.com

a large number or quantity

So it's a number, not a group, and therefore gets the plural verb "there are".

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

slew is defined at ODO as

A large number or quantity of something.

M-W

a large number

dictionary.com

a large number or quantity

So it's a number, not a group, and therefore gets the plural verb "there are".

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

up vote
3
down vote

slew is defined at ODO as

A large number or quantity of something.

M-W

a large number

dictionary.com

a large number or quantity

So it's a number, not a group, and therefore gets the plural verb "there are".

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

slew is defined at ODO as

A large number or quantity of something.

M-W

a large number

dictionary.com

a large number or quantity

So it's a number, not a group, and therefore gets the plural verb "there are".

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

answered 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

answered 1 hour ago

Barmar

9,3531429

9,3531429

add a comment | 

add a comment | 

nerdlinger is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.

 

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