March 19, 2011
In the English grammar rule numbers used numerically or mathematically are singular. Try explain this example?
An example of this is – 23 IS a prime number. (“is” shows that its singular)
If hats grammatically correct.
Then why is this example also grammatically correct – 23 WERE killed in a fatal taxi accident. (“were” shows that it is plural)
What is the reason for the second example being correct? (don’t be afraid to over explain ) =)
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Filed under Grammar FAQ by on Mar 19th, 2011. Comment. 
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Comments on In the English grammar rule numbers used numerically or mathematically are singular. Try explain this example?
If you a referring to a number as a singular entity (as in the first example) then you say “is”. In your second example, the number 23 is a reference to something which is plural (i.e. people being killed), thus the word “were” is a reference to people, and not the number 23. Although if you were writing grammatically correct english, you would not say “23 were killed” – this type of structure is only used in headlines or news bulletins, as they convey the message faster and more concisely. Furthermore, there is no need for headlines/bulletins to obey the rules of grammar as they technically are not proper sentences anyway.
because the number still exists and the people in the taxi don’t….thus WERE.