Why is the declension of the verb is for feminine singular?
группа туристов хотела бы пообедать.
Isn't группа туристов plural here?
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Why would "группа" be plural? Do you say "group of tourists have arrived at the camp" in English?– AbakanCommented Apr 7, 2017 at 10:21
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1@Abakan In British English, that is in fact what you say.– Nikolay ErshovCommented Apr 7, 2017 at 11:16
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@Abakan, I have found some info on the net, and it said that both singular and plural are possible in English. I even came across such a sentence "..BE has a much stronger preference for a plural verb with a group of people.."– xpr34Commented Apr 7, 2017 at 11:26
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2 Answers
No, "группа туристов" is singular. The fact that group denotes a set of objects does not change the fact that the word itself is singular.
Compare "группа туристов заблудилась в лесу" and "группы туристов переходили вброд речку кто где".
As an example of seemingly more complicated constructs think of "пара групп туристов" - it's a couple of groups - and it's still singular )
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"группа" is feminine singular. That is why "хотела" is used, right?– xpr34Commented Apr 7, 2017 at 11:28
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While Russian does hesitate between singular and plural with such collective nouns as ряд, большинство, меньшинство, часть, or множество, the word группа doesn't have the quasi-numeral, for lack of a better term, properties of the English "group". In other words, it's thought of as an entity comprised of people, rather than a set of people.
answered Apr 7, 2017 at 11:31