Breakdown of Une foule de gens a produit des millions de clics.
une
a / an (feminine)
des
some (plural indefinite)
les gens
the people
avoir
to have
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
produire
to produce
la foule
the crowd
le million
the million
le clic
the click
Questions & Answers about Une foule de gens a produit des millions de clics.
Why is the verb singular (a produit) when the subject includes the plural word gens?
The subject starts with the collective noun une foule. When you have a singular collective noun followed by de and a plural noun, the verb can be either singular or plural! Using the singular a produit emphasizes the crowd as a single, unified group. If the speaker wanted to focus on the individual people acting, they could use the plural ont produit. Both are grammatically correct.
Why do we need the word de in des millions de clics?
In French, the words million and milliard are considered regular nouns, unlike numbers such as cent or mille. Because they act as nouns, they must be connected to the noun they are counting using the preposition de, which translates literally to millions of clicks.
Could we just say Une foule a produit... instead of Une foule de gens?
Why doesn't the past participle produit agree with clics and become produits?
With the auxiliary verb avoir, the past participle only agrees with a direct object if that object comes before the verb. Here, the direct object (des millions de clics) comes after the verb, so produit remains in its default masculine singular form.
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