Re:A growing number of traders are betting Snap’s stock pric...
by semi-extrinsic on Thursday June 08, 2017 @10:53AM
(#14514579)
I find it helpful in cases like this, when in doubt, to replace the phrase in question with a single word and see what makes sense then. Here:
"a growing number of traders" => "they", so "are" is correct.
"the growing number of traders" => "it", so "is" is correct.
Dictionary.com says: Usage note 2. As a collective noun, number, when preceded by a, is most often treated as a plural: A number of legislators have voiced their dissent. When preceded by the, it is usually used as a singular: The number of legislators present was small.