讨论一道语法题

一位考友遇到的题目：

More than______population of Washington.......

(A)half (B) half of (c) the half (D) half the

我认为选A。c和d显然不对,如果用half of的话，我认为后面要加the。不知对否，请指教。

wrong. D is right.

half（限定词）+ the (不可数名词） 例： half the bread

             + 单数可数名词           half an hour

             + the( 复数可数名词)     half the books

B worng. 如果用half of的话,后面要加the(可数名词，不可数名词  ）

大家不妨用google搜一搜“more than half the population of”和“more than half population of”。两种说法都有，那么到底该选什么？

例子：

In 1850 the federal census showed that more than half the population of California
was made up of young men in their twenties.

Today more than half population of United States -- 63 million households -- includes a canine or feline family member.