English use of plurals with numeric (decimal) fractions is peculiar, particularly in the spoken form.
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Plurals are in the mind’s eye
Singular subjects require singular verbs and plural subjects require plural verbs… except when they don’t.
The Netherlands
Um… surely not. The Dutch don’t make mistakes when referring to their own country, do they? It turns out to be a surprisingly tricky one.
Data
A singular noun. Yes, the origin of the word is the Latin plural of datum, but that’s not the point. Languages are dynamic and changing; if you don’t go with the flow, it can sound hypercorrect.
19th and 20th centuries
The word “and” creates a plural in English – in this example, you’re talking about more than one century, after all.
Advanced Dunglish 