Какое количество национальностей проживает...
Я встречал это предложение и у меня есть вопрос. Правильно ли писать:
Какое количество национальностей проживают...
потому что количество относится ко многим объектам или народам?
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1I'd say that is stretched but acceptable. Your phrase is synonymous to "сколько национальностей проживают...?". So, taking your phrase rigidly, of course "количество" is singular and so must be verb. But I think in casual speech you may use plural verb too, and while that would strictly speaking be an error, it is a minor nuance that in "street speak" would pass as "speaker's own dialect"– AriochSep 11, 2017 at 9:03
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On a second thought, even "сколько национальностей...?" or "как много нац-й ....?" should use singular verb form too. I have a strong guts feeling the plural verb form would be accepted in such questions typically, but find hard time to coin a similar phrase where plural verb would be syntactically correct.– AriochSep 11, 2017 at 9:27
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1 Answer
Strictly speaking, actually the correct form would be:
Каково количество национальностей, проживающих в ...
But каково de-facto it's admittedly getting slightly obsolete, so I can imagine one can say:
Сколько национальностей проживает в ...
though какое количество национальностей проживает is also acceptable. As of "какое количество национальностей проживают" - well, yes, I can not claim that you'll never see phrase built this way but it would be a clear indicator that author's is far from mastering an expertise in writing in Russian.
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"actually the correct form would be:" - this implies the TS's form #1 was incorrect. It was not incorrect though. It was surely unnatural and maybe even queer, but it definitely was correct. "Некоторое количество национальностей....", "Большое количество..." etc. Using "Какое количество..." is definitely correct syntax too.– AriochSep 11, 2017 at 9:26
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@as of "некоторое количество", "большое количество" - that's unarguably true, it's just that all these phrases are equivalent to one that is asked about - which is a question about the quantity, not a statement.– shabunc ♦Sep 11, 2017 at 9:29
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....as in "incorrect but also acceptable". The mistake that society couple with. It is socially acceptable that you "go to bushes" provided you're in bodily emergency and no open civilized WC around. Still violation, but one that probably is going to be forgiven, accepted if frowned upon.– AriochSep 11, 2017 at 9:30
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1@IntrepidNomad "Какое количество" is a heavy boilerplate. I would expect such a phrase in mathematics classes, but not in the streets.– AriochSep 13, 2017 at 8:15