'A variety of sth' : Concord

  1. A variety of animals are kept at the zoo.
  2. A wide variety of dishes is essential for a successful restaurant.

Are the above sentences correct?

Souba73

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I think the website where you got the example gives a good explanation. Yes, they are both correct, since 1 refers to the many different types of animals, while 2 refers to a complete collection of dishes.

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Can’t really see the difference as both for me could take a plural verb. Take for example - a lot of - a great deal of - a number of and so on. Perhaps ‘selection’ or ‘wide selection’ would need a singular verb.

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Hi Alan (Sir),
Thank you for your sudden appearance after a period long silence.

However, in spite of my trying hard to find the clear and concrete answer regarding the concord of these type of sentences, I could not get rid of the confusion as to what is the standard rule for it. It appears to me that the verb depends on how the speaker treat the set of elements - what Luschen wanted to explain. I don’t know whether I am correct or not.
Souba73

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Hardly ‘sudden’ appearance. You obviously haven’t read a couple of substantial pieces I have posted recently.

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Sir, I am really sorry that I did not find your articles or reply for a long time. Even after repeated tagging you did not reply. I thought that you had left this forum.

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