The number of people invited()eighty,but a number of them()ab-sen_英语解答

The number of people invited()eighty,but a number of them()ab-sent for different reasons
为什么是 was were呢
求解释

人气：178 ℃　时间：2019-09-02 08:56:20

解答

the number of 意思是：……的数量,作主语时是单数,所以第一个空用 was .
a number of 意思是：许多,大量,是复数,所以第二个空用 were .