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Russia flagMari
THE or A? Hi! How should I say? the vast majority of people or a vast majority of people Thanks in advance!

Corrections · 10

1
If we are referring to a specific majority of people, places or things, then we would use the article "the".
For example: In most cases, there can be only one majority, a specific number of things, so we use the article "the" for specificity. We would also say "the minority" if we are referring to a specific number of things equal to less than 50% of all the things.

But if we are referring to any majority or minority, a majority or minority in general, then we are talking about one majority or minority and the article "a" would be used.
For example: A majority (or A minority) of votes will decide who wins or who loses the election.

However, there are situations where either article can be used and both are correct.
In your case, you could say, "the vast majority of people or a vast majority of people", however, I would almost always say "the vast majority" because there is only one "vast majority".

There does not appear to be any specific grammar rules explaining the use of a or the with respect to the noun majority.
1
THE or A?

Hi!
How should I say?
the vast majority of people
or
a vast majority of people

Thanks in advance!

Taken in isolation like this, "The vast majority will be correct most of the time, to fit 'the' article grammar rules of English. It will give you practice in using 'the' that non natives initially find difficult. However depending on the context "a vast majority can also be grammatically correct". There are occasions when it is just a matter of personal preference, and the meaning will not be changed dramatically.

"the vast majority of people attending the conference are here in a professional capacity"
"a vast majority of people attending the conference are here in a professional capacity"
for this sentence it is a personal choice, however "the vast majority" will sound better to 99% of native English speakers.
0
THE or A?

Hi!
How should I say?
the vast majority of people
or
a vast majority of people

Thanks in advance!

A vast majority of people
0
The vast majority of people is correct.
0
We use the article “the” to refer to a specific member (or members) of a group. For example, “Please give me the red pen.” There might be many other pens on the table, but I only want the red one. If it did not matter, I would say, “Please give me a pen.” Here, you are referring to a group of people, but specifically, the vast majority of them, thus, using “the” follows the rules of grammar. Furthermore, in terms of actual usage, as evidenced on COCA, “the vast majority” has over 5,000 listing, while “a vast majority” only has 257. I hope that this helps you, Jonathan.

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