python vs c#

[Jan Dries]

Bengt Richter wrote:
[... ]
> I almost posted a similar comment ;-) OTOH ...
> How many relevant points do you need to start a debate?
> How would you answer that question?
> 
> A few is enough?
> A few are enough?
> A few relevant points suffices, or a few relevant points suffice?
> A small number suffices, or a small number suffice?
> A dozen is sufficient?
> A dozen are sufficient?
>  
> I suspect that there are some semantic subtleties at work. 
> I.e., when you focus mentally on the few points as a single
> collection, the singular forms feel right, but when you focus on 
> the few points as separate entities, plural forms feel right.
> Thus you want the verb (e.g.,is/are) to agree numerically with
> _some entities_, or with _a collection_, according to your focus.
> I think some sentences can be read either way, depending on which
> way your attention is directed (e.g. by word order and discourse
> context etc.) "A few" can work as noun or adjective, it seems.

IIRC from back when I was in school (long time ago), both forms are correct.
At least in Dutch. Strictly spoken it should be "a few is enough" or "a
number of people has died". But the plural form is also accepted, and it is
called (with an expensive Latin term) "constructio ad sensum", i.e. you
conjugate the verb in accordance with what the word represents, rather than
with what it grammatically is. 

Regards,
Jan