neither nor

The remaining 80 % have to be transferred or The remaining 80 % are going to be transferred

Warum ist das falsch, kann mir das jemand erklären? Ich hätte das für richtig gehalten... :-(

Oh, und dabei kommen beide Versionen aus professionellen Übersetzungsbüros.
Tsetse...

The correct version is "80 percent are". Subject-verb agreement. The verb has to be in agreement with the 80, NOT with the percent.
"One percent is happy with"
"Two percent are convinced that...."

It's a common mistake.
Still, a "professional" translation office shouldn't be making this kind of mistake.

The American Heritage® Book of English Usage.
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.

 
3. Word Choice: New Uses, Common Confusion, and Constraints

 
§ 227. percent
Statistically speaking, you can increase a quantity by any percentage, but you cannot decrease a quantity by more than 100 percent. For example, once pollution has been reduced by 100 percent, it ceases to exist, and no further reduction is possible. In defiance of this logic, however, advertisers sometimes refer to a 150 percent decrease in lost luggage or a new dental rinse that reduces plaque on teeth by over 300 percent. You can usually figure out the general idea of these examples, but this doesn’t absolve them of being illogical. 1
Percent can take a singular or a plural verb, depending on how you view the quantity being described. Very often what determines the form of the verb is the noun nearest to it. Thus you might say Eighty percent of the legislators are going to vote against the bill or Eighty percent of the legislature is set to vote the bill down. In the second sentence the group of legislators is considered as a body, not as individuals. When you use percent without a following prepositional phrase, either a singular or plural verb is acceptable. For more on this, see subject and verb agreement under Grammar. 2

"an reliability of 80% is not bad."

"80% are more than 70%."

"how much did you get? Oh, 80%? That is great!"

Wie schon erwähnt kommt es immer darauf an, worauf man sich bezieht. Zumindest "sagt" mir das mein Sprachgefühl... *g* Natürlich lasse ich mich gerne eines Besseren belehren, aber ob ich das dann in Zukunft auch so umsetze wage ich mal zu bezweifeln... ^^

Ungünstige Beispiele:

"an reliability of 80% is not bad."

Das Verb bezieht sich auf "reliability" (übrigens "a", nicht "an")

"how much did you get? Oh, 80%? That is great!"

"That's great!" bezieht sich auf die Tatsache, dass du 80% bekommen hast, nicht auf "80%".

Also, noch mal mit dem Satz davor:
"The risk component is calculated using a rate of 20 %. The remaining 80 % is/ are to be transferred."

Wenn ich eure Antworten richtig verstanden habe, würde es in diesem Fall eher is heißen, weil sich das Verb im Grunde auf "a rate of 80 %" als eine Einheit bezieht?

@Gramusel
Yes, with the sentence you've given "is" is the best choice. (I have to admit that I don't understand the sentence: rates don't have to add up to 100%, unlike parts of a whole, so I don't see why 80% "remains" However, I trust you that it makes sense in context...)

I agree with "You sure, TGIF?" that the deciding factor is whether the noun referred to is countable or not.

@gh
While your suggestions are both okay, the original phrase with "is / are" is also perfectly correct. Note also that "have to be transferred" implies compulsion, which isn't implied by "is / are", so you're changing the meaning slightly.

@Philip (BE)
Let's better not think about the sense or nonsense of the stuff ;-)

@all
Vielen Dank!

If there are a hundred people in a room and twenty of them leave, then 80% are still there, but there are fewer people than there were.

If you have a ten gallons of water in a tank and you pour away two gallons, then 80% is still there, but there is less water than there was.

The issue of whether to say "80% is" or "80% are" is exactly the same as whther to say "less" or "fewer".

@Joe: i.e. "the deciding factor is whether the noun referred to is countable or not" (quoting Philip 14:14:21)

@ You sure, TGIF? :

Wer lesen kann ist klar im Vorteil. ;) Wie ich in meinem vorigen Beitrag geschrieben habe, sollten diese "ungünstigen" Beispiele lediglich einfach darstellen, dass es bei der Wahl von "is/are" oder "has/have" darauf ankommt, auf was man sich bezieht und 80% auch durchaus eine Einzahl darstellen kann. ;)

Ich hoffe Du verzeihst mir meinen kleinen Tipp-Fehler, natürlich darf es nicht "an reliability" heißen. Asche auf mein Haupt. *lol*

Ich leih mir mal ein bisschen von deiner Asche und verteile sie auf meinem Haupt.

Sorry!

Hat sonst noch jemand das Bedürfnis sich an meiner Asche zu vergreifen?? *gg* Dann aber schnell, bin gleich weg. ^^

Sorry for OT ^^ Ist halt fast Wochenende. :D

Philip, 'You sure,' Joe W, and penguin are right. The only thing that matters is whether you're referring to a countable or noncountable noun.

TGIF was wrong; the size of the percentage makes absolutely no difference.

• Only .5% / 1% / 2% / etc. of the watches are from Switzerland.
• Only .5% / 1% / 2% / etc. of the chocolate is from Switzerland.

Gramusel's sentence makes no sense at all. Here's a clearer example:

• 20% of the money will stay in this fund. The remaining 80% is to be transferred.
• 20% of the employees will stay in this office. The remaining 80% are to be transferred.

Note also that, unlike in German, there's no space before the percent sign. And another correction:

—> Let's not think / Better not think ... (but not 'Let's better')

@ Gramusel

Context! Context!

"80 % of the students are having grade A this year."
"80 % of the population is still struggling to get a decent education."