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I'm in an argument with somebody, about this line. The number of customers increase vs The number of customers increases. We are focusing on the number, but the subject is plural. He's arguing that the subject is "number" I'm arguing that it's "customers"

What would be grammatically correct? If there is a correct way, is there any references on it?

Tinfoil Hat
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Kevin
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    Let's hear the whole sentence, please. Customers don't increase, though their number or numbers might. It's not a good idea to decide "My subject is number, but my focus is customer, so my verb will agree with that." – Yosef Baskin Oct 28 '23 at 23:23
  • Why do you think the subject is customers? The subject is number, but to give an answer that resolves your confusion, I'd need to know the source of it. – alphabet Oct 29 '23 at 02:02
  • Seems to have been asked many times and either is possible, e.g. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/59753/a-number-of-students-vs-the-number-of-students (not sure which is the best/original). – Stuart F Oct 29 '23 at 14:52
  • We do use notional agreement in some cases (e.g. A number of customers were sad, where the verb agrees with the object of the preposition), but that doesn’t happen with the number. – Tinfoil Hat Oct 29 '23 at 15:16
  • 'The number of Ns' (N a suitable count noun usage, Ns the plural form) indeed centres on singular 'number' when it comes to deciding verb form to follow. Compare 'the tally of children needing such care is increasing'; 'the count of diabetes mellitus patients is increasing'. // With 'a number of Ns', however, 'a number of' is a compound quantifier and is 'number-transparent' for verb agreement purposes (ie verb agreement now hinges on the fact that Ns is plural). 'A number of children are in need of such care.' Compare 'A lot of / A majority of / Many / Several men were asleep. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 29 '23 at 15:37

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