Breakdown of Une poignée d'adolescents ont publié plusieurs vidéos virales.
une
a / an (feminine)
avoir
to have
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
publier
to publish
l'adolescent
the teenager (m)
plusieurs
several
la vidéo
the video
viral
viral
la poignée
the handful
Questions & Answers about Une poignée d'adolescents ont publié plusieurs vidéos virales.
Why is the verb plural (ont publié) when the subject starts with the singular noun Une poignée?
With collective nouns followed by a plural complement (like Une poignée d'adolescents), French often lets you choose between singular and plural agreement. We use the plural ont publié here to emphasize the individuals acting independently. If you wanted to emphasize the group as a single unit, you could use the singular a publié.
Would the agreement rule be the same if the sentence used Le groupe instead of Une poignée?
It depends heavily on the article. Expressions starting with an indefinite article like Un groupe de or Une foule de give you the choice of singular or plural agreement. However, if you use a definite article like Le groupe de, the verb almost always agrees with the singular collective noun because the group is viewed as one specific, defined entity.
Is poignée only used for physical things you can hold in your hand?
Why doesn't the word plusieurs change to match the feminine noun vidéos?
The word plusieurs (several) is an invariable determiner. It always expresses a plural quantity, but its spelling never changes to reflect masculine or feminine genders.
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