Hello, and good afternoon.

My question deals with subject verb agreements. I understand time periods and amounts are singular verbs. Here are my samples: 'Three weeks is a lot of time to do a project,' and 'One half of the children like cupcakes.' I know when to use a singular noun with each, anyone, etc. This is where I'm confused. Sixteen people are/is hard to seat at Thanksgiving. Is it the verb 'is' used because sixteen is one thing like three-fourths? Is it 'are' used because the noun of the preposition is plural? I'm leaning towards "Sixteen people are hard to seat at Thanksgiving" because "Four quarters fell off the table" uses the plural verb. Four is describing the multiple items falling. Any guidance you have would really help me. Thank you in advance for the help. It makes a huge difference to me.

people are

there is no preposition here

four quarters fell...
past tense makes no distinction in number. (except for "to be")

it is confusing sometime, all right. A good example is

"the number" is singular
"a number" is plural

Sixteen people are/is hard to seat at Thanksgiving. Is it the verb 'is' used because sixteen is one thing like three-fourths? Is it 'are' used because the noun of the preposition is plural? I'm leaning towards "Sixteen people are hard to seat at Thanksgiving"

Yes, I agree that you should use "are" as the verb in that sentence because the subject is clearly plural -- sixteen [meaning sixteen people].

Thank you for the help! I understand the number of people is plural. It is nice of you to tutor online. Thank you for what you do, it makes a difference.

You're welcome. =)

Hello! I'd be happy to help you with your question about subject-verb agreement.

In the examples you provided, "Three weeks is a lot of time to do a project" and "One half of the children like cupcakes," you are correct in using singular verbs. This is because "three weeks" and "one half" function as unitary concepts.

Turning to your question about "Sixteen people are/is hard to seat at Thanksgiving," let's analyze it further. In this case, "sixteen people" is indeed a plural noun phrase. The verb you choose should agree with the subject, which is plural in this case. Therefore, the correct sentence is "Sixteen people are hard to seat at Thanksgiving."

You mentioned the example "Four quarters fell off the table" to support your reasoning. "Four quarters" is also a plural subject, so the plural verb "fell" is used correctly. This example aligns with the same concept as "Sixteen people are hard to seat at Thanksgiving."

Remember, subject-verb agreement is about ensuring that the subject and the verb in a sentence agree in number. So, when you have a plural subject, you should use a plural verb.

I hope this clarifies your question! Let me know if you need any more assistance.