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Which of the following sentences is the correct conjugation:

  1. A breadth of organisms depends on water.
  2. A breadth of organisms depend on water.

I believe the subject of the sentence is singular, "a breadth," in which case option 1 would seem to be correct. However, whenever I say this sentence out loud it just sounds wrong. Further, one could compare these two sentences to the nearly identical "many organisms depend on water," or "a lot of organisms depend on water," where the plural form of the verb is clearly the correct choice.

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  • 3
    Do you mean A wide range of organisms depend on water? A breadth of organisms isn't very idiomatic.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented May 31, 2022 at 19:15
  • 1
    Nowadays, there is a choice according to many mature Anglophones. Is 'a breadth of' a non-bleached fuzzy quantifier taking logical agreement (they depend) or does one prefer to see it as unitary?
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented May 31, 2022 at 19:19
  • 1
    Does this answer your question? "There is" or "There are" a large quantity of people? See also There is or are a wealth of- opportunities?
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented May 31, 2022 at 19:21
  • Yes, your concept of breadth should determine singular or plural. Sentence one likely sounds funny because "organisms," a substantial four-syllable word, immediately precedes the verb. By the time your tongue gets to that fourth syllable, humble "breadth" has been near forgotten.
    – Zan700
    Commented May 31, 2022 at 20:26
  • Better not to use "breadth"! One option would be "a large variety."
    – aparente001
    Commented Jun 1, 2022 at 19:44

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