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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*).

{{item:892819}}

{{item:892826}}

### 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*.

{{item:892822}}

{{item:892828}}

### 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:

{{item:892831}}

But it can just as easily take a plural verb if you are picturing the individual teenagers taking action:

{{item:892832}}

Agreement with collective nouns (un groupe de...)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the post	la publication
A group of young students created this post.	Un groupe de jeunes étudiants a créé cette publication.
the quantity	la quantité
viral	viral
A quantity of messages made this post viral.	Une quantité de messages ont rendu cette publication virale.
the mass	la masse
the click	le clic
the buzz	le buzz
A mass of clicks is going to create a buzz.	Une masse de clics va créer le buzz.
the swarm	la nuée
A swarm of comments appeared under that one.	Une nuée de commentaires sont apparus sous celle-là.
the handful	la poignée
the craze (m)	l'engouement
Only a handful of fans understood this craze.	Seulement une poignée de fans a compris cet engouement.
A handful of teenagers published several viral videos.	Une poignée d'adolescents ont publié plusieurs vidéos virales.
the share	le partage
Since this article is funny, a large quantity of shares are going to follow.	Puisque cet article est drôle, une grande quantité de partages vont suivre.
A crowd of people produced millions of clicks.	Une foule de gens a produit des millions de clics.
A group of friends created a buzz with these.	Un groupe d'amis a fait le buzz avec ceux-ci.
This mass of data explains the current craze.	Cette masse de données explique l'engouement actuel.
A swarm of subscribers is going to increase this figure.	Une nuée d'abonnés va augmenter ce chiffre.
A group of fans appreciate viral sharing.	Un groupe de fans apprécient le partage viral.