You tried saying it while discussing it with friends in class, but then it sounded unpleasant in your ears. Your tongue, in conjunction with your brain, can not just process how distasteful it sounds. How does one successfully bring in “Many,”; a word used as a quantifier, close to a noun phrase, “a student” that contains “a”; an article that represents indefinite singularity. “What kind of marriage of inconvenience is this?” your tongue told your brain. This article seeks to provide clear answers that would help lay to rest this gripping dispute among your sense organs. Let’s know more about Is “Many a student” Correct?
The phrase “many a” has created many a confusion (Pun intended) for language users, especially readers, creative writers, and traditional grammarians. To put it very simply, “Many a student” is very correct. This noun phrase can be used alternately for “many students.” They both represent the same meaning. “Many a” is used when describing a large number of count noun of the same kind. Do not forget, for the sake of meaning and explanation, the key phrase- “the same kind.” It is considered more formal to use, as compared to using just “many.”
However correct, it is quite important to shed light on its usage contextually to help create a premise of the technical argument for day-to-day users of the English language.
How to use “Many a”
As you may know already, Concord, the most important aspect of English grammar, is defined as the agreement between subjects, verbs, and objects in sentences. It is the comprehensive study of how nouns, and pronouns, relate with verbs in sentences to give proper meaning that would not fail a semantic test. The subject in a sentence is the performer of the action in the sentence (verb). See “subject” as the reason for the whole sentence in the first place.
Not so common, but it is used to refer to a larger number of counted nouns. It is used when describing that a number of things or persons are in consideration.
For example, “Many a student has been admitted into this College” implies that at various times, a large number of students of the same kind or under the same conditions known to the writer or speaker have been admitted into the College. It is used to make notional nouns appear singular. See https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7327328_Notional_number_agreement_in_English for more on Notional nouns and agreement.
It is used by creative writers to show some sort of officialness when communicating.
Further examples-
Many a student is coming for the debate competition.
This same assignment has been given to many a student of engineering.
Many a casualty has been recorded at the factory in the last quarter of this year.
I have been there many a time.
Conclusion
In the final analysis, it is correct to say “many a student,” just as it is correct to say “many students.” The part no user of the English Language must confuse when using the expressions interchangeably is the agreement of the noun phrase with the succeeding verb. For “many a student,” a singular verb must follow. A plural verb should be used with “many students.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Should a singular verb follow “many a student”?
The first rule of Concord states that singular nouns must take singular verbs, and plural nouns must take plural verbs. This places “many a” in the category of nouns and noun phrases that should take singular verbs in contexts.
“Many a student” is considered singular due to the article “a” preceding the noun “student,” so in fulfilment of the rule of Concord, it must take a singular verb.
Does the same rule of Concord apply to “Many an”?
Yes. The same rule of Concord applies. Herein, ‘an’ is just an indefinite article that may be used with nouns starting with vowel sounds.
Examples-
Many an egg has been eaten today.
Many an insult has been hurled at politicians.
Why is “Many a student” singular while “Many students” is plural?
“Many a” is grammatically singular but notionally plural. While it is a fixed phrase that follows a strict grammatical pattern of taking a singular noun and a singular verb, it is used to express a rather large group of the object noun. There are various grammatical examples where certain expressions are fixed – albeit arbitrarily — because that is the way the native speakers of the language have deemed it fit for use.
“Many students” is plural grammatically and notionally because it follows the conventional grammatical rules of Concord. “Many” refers to “more than one,” however, in a much larger frequency. When we use “many,” we are not talking of two, three, four, five… but perhaps ten, fifty, hundreds, etc. Therefore, the plural “students” should follow “many.”