Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ivogel]

1. Many people have ~~

2. Many a people has ~~

When there are sentences like above, is sentence number 2 grammatically wrong?

If both sentences are correct, what is the difference between them?


**Reference site for the text below: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/the-difference-between-many-and-many-a

----------------------------------------------------------
Many a/an...

The fixed expression many a/an... is more formal than the single word many, and it is much less common. Many a/an... is used mainly in literary writing and newspapers. Like the adjective and pronoun many discussed above, many a/an... is used to indicate a large number of something. However, it takes a singular noun, which can be followed by a singular verb. Here are some examples:

It remained a mystery for many a year. [=for many years]
I've been there many a time. [=many times]
Many a politician has promised to make changes. [Politician and has are singular.]

---------------------------------------------------
Thank you.

[Lorikeet]

In your example, you use "many a people has" but the explanation you copied explained that it takes a singular noun. Therefore it would have to be "many a person has". However, you should know that this is very rarely used.