When talking about viral trends, you will often use collective nouns like un groupe (a group), une quantité (a quantity), or une masse (a mass) followed by a plural noun, such as un groupe de fans (a group of fans).
So, should the verb be singular to match "a group", or plural to match "fans"?
In French, both are often correct! The conjugation simply depends on what you want to emphasize.
Emphasizing the collective unit (Singular)
If you want to focus on the group acting as a single, unified entity, conjugate the verb in the singular. The verb agrees with the collective noun (like le groupe or la masse).
| A group of young students created this post. | Un groupe de jeunes étudiants a créé cette publication. |
| A mass of clicks is going to create a buzz. | Une masse de clics va créer le buzz. |
Emphasizing the individuals (Plural)
If your focus is on the multiple people or things that make up the group, conjugate the verb in the plural. The verb agrees with the plural noun that follows de.
| A quantity of messages made this post viral. | Une quantité de messages ont rendu cette publication virale. |
| A swarm of comments appeared under that one. | Une nuée de commentaires sont apparus sous celle-là. |
A matter of perspective
With expressions like une poignée de (a handful of), une foule de (a crowd of), or une nuée de (a swarm of), the choice is entirely up to you.
Notice how une poignée de can take a singular verb if you are picturing a single small cluster of people:
| Only a handful of fans understood this craze. | Seulement une poignée de fans a compris cet engouement. |
But it can just as easily take a plural verb if you are picturing the individual teenagers taking action:
| A handful of teenagers published several viral videos. | Une poignée d'adolescents ont publié plusieurs vidéos virales. |