Choose the correct sentence: ‘Fifty percent of the students ___ present today.’

Explanation

When a sentence begins with a percentage or fraction followed by ‘of,’ the verb agrees with the noun that follows ‘of,’ not with the percentage itself. Since ‘students’ (plural) is the noun following ‘of’ in this sentence, the plural verb ‘are’ is correct, giving ‘Fifty percent of the students are present.’ If the noun were instead singular or uncountable, such as ‘the cake,’ a singular verb would be required. Explore more English MCQs on mcqstutor to keep practicing.