The vs. a: She is one of the/a small but growing number of people who bike to...

[Sweetpumpkin]

Hi,

1. She is one of a small but growing number of people who bike to work.
2. She is one of the small but growing number of people who bike to work.

I think 2 is right here. For 1, 'a' is connected to 'number of' but it sounds weird: 'a number of' means many, so it doesn't match 'small'.

If you think 1 is right, how come? Would you tell me?

Thanks,
sweetpumpkin

[Morteza]

Hi,
A number of ... + plural verb (Bike is correct)
The number of ... + singular verb (Bikes is correct)
Regards,
Morteza

[Alan]

Hi SP,

'Number' simply means 'quantity' and can be large or small. 'A small number' is fine.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Passive Voice

[Sweetpumpkin]

Hi, Alan.

So, do you think both of them are reasonable to say, right? They both are not really different from each other to me now.

[Anglo Sax]

Either is correct. Use of 'the' conveys slightly more emphasis or importance on this particular group, depending on the context, however, the difference may be trivial. If you were referring to users generally you might use 'a' but if you were focussing on cyclists in particular you might choose 'the'.

p.s. 'To bike' might be considered slightly slang: some people may prefer the verb 'to cycle'.