In fact, I [insert swear word of your choice] love buttons. The word population is a collective noun that can take either a singular or plural verb, depending on the intention of the author. Close adherence to formal guidelines would favor the singular verb for your collective noun examples, but usage can also be influenced by a writer’s intent. Both are utterly identical in ‘total’ meaning, and so the need for the other can seem quite superfulous at first. (is the 1st sentence loyal to the meaning in the 2nd sentence? (Though, strictly speaking, “people” is a singular collective noun (as in, the American people) and it can be pluralized as in, “The peoples of the earth share a common humanity.” But, maybe that has become the archaic form, for virtually everyone uses people as the plural of person). The general rule is “The expression the number is followed by a singular verb while the expression a number is followed by a plural verb.” Your sentences are correct and your mnemonic is a good one. Since pack is being treated as a unit, use the singular verb is. Could you please tell me which of these two sentences is correct? We imagine that Theodore Bernstein would likely respond that your example fits nicely into the ten percent of cases where couple is regarded as singular. For some animals, there is more than one collective noun, reflecting how close people have been to them througout history. Nearly 25% of the population is/are Muslim. I am hoping for your response! The class members are acting with individuality within the unit in your example. The shepherd tended his flock. Which sentence is correct: “A flood of Tribune employees signs up for buyouts” OR “A flood of Tribune employees sign up for buyouts.”? Therefore, use the singular verb “is.”), However, if we remove the word “two” from your sentence, in formal American English it would be written as “Fifty percent of the mangoes are spoiled.” The subject of your sentence is 50%. As this post indicates, with collective nouns the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer’s intent. I can´t see what is complicated about that. (Would be grateful for your reply by email. In these no-win cases, I usually make the choice that seems less likely to disrupt the majority of readers, though it is grammatically wrong. If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page. I feel the former although it sounds strange. best web…pls help cllective name of weaver bird and sunbird thax, Best list i have seen great job on whoever created this! But if the sentence is converted into a question,”Are the students the target?”, the answer seems to be, “Yes, the target are the students.” That sounds right, doesn’t it? Is this correct? In the sentence A family of ducks were resting on the grass, the subject of the sentence is family, which is a collective noun. same goes here : Word formation (from Verb to noun or adjective) By gloenglish 35 sentences to practise word formation from verbs to nouns or adjectives. vs. Fractions and percentages can either be singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition following. However, the subject is one, which is singular and takes a singular verb. In the example, The Burbs is a single title of a movie. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. please help me know.Does it require a plural or singular verb? People is NOT a collective noun like team or staff. Isn’t both sentences follow the same pattern and have the same elements; and therefore, they should carry the same subject/verb agreement. notice.style.display = "block"; Also, since the senior class of 2012 is acting as a single unit (further evidenced by the use of the singular possessive pronoun its), the singular verb announces should be used. The snake-oil lobby reveals its true colours Earlier this year I spotted that in 2020, solar and wind generated more electricity in Texas than coal. Which is correct in the following examples? But if the team consisted of 10 or more, grouping of teams will be consummated. are). The newspaper article is written correctly. display: none !important; Just because you heard a news reporter say it that way does NOT mean it was correct. It happens that in the UK, we tend to prefer plural nouns, while in the US I notice they prefer the singular more often than not. Singular noun = singular verb; plural noun = plural verb. Neither John nor we indicated that just because a reporter says something it is correct. See Rule 3 of Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects on our GrammarBook.com website. BC. The team is proud of its achievements . It s very useful to learn collective nouns use while speaking good english and teaching others. Can you tell me the correct one? If this is so, then it makes sense to me and conforms to what appears to be happening in the example of the ducks sentence. Or: Our family sold our house. 2. When the subject is a collective noun conveying the idea of plurality, the verb is plural {the faculty were divided in their sentiments}.”. fruit or fruits 1. a. The example from our website is from Rule 14 of Subject and Verb Agreement and deals with the pronouns who, that, or which, and how the verb must agree with the noun in front of these pronouns. It has for centuries. I think I will have a cup of tea. A herd of cattle was sold. In your second sentence, the class members are acting with individuality within the unit. In your sentence the word staff is a collective noun that is acting as a unit. We have faith in citizen’s participation and the strength of civil society. (please forgive me for these silly questions, it’s not my native language and “google translate” got me all confused) I came across a sentence that I believe has a subject/verb agreement problem. Can you cite even one authority who would agree with you? In this sentence, the object of the preposition is building, which is always singular. “What is the population of America?” Yes, furniture is a mass noun. Similarly, “A group of doctors is traveling to Haiti” is correct. In your first example, “India has a team of players who are dedicated,” the team of players are acting with individuality within the unit. Therefore, use the plural verb decide. Again, thank you in advance, for any insights you can give me. If the answer is “are”, then why when referred to in the past tense, do we say, “The 80’s was a time when…..”? I am in a bit of a conundrum with my boss. Which one is correct? So the answer is is. var notice = document.getElementById("cptch_time_limit_notice_92"); (The meaning of “in the affairs” is awkward and unclear.). Any of us(isn’t us the plural?) Unrelated comments may be deleted. 1. You are correct that the word resources is a singular noun in your sentence. Thank God I found your blog! In the case in question, it is the purpose of a process. Our staff works/work hard to meet their goals and deadlines. But I think they tend to appear alone? In this case, the collective noun, family, is singular as each duck is doing the same thing and therefore acting as a unit: “A family of ducks was resting on the grass.”. A large proportion of subjects with this disease were reported. Dr. Jones and his team have successfully performed the surgery. The plural verb were and pronoun their are used if the writer intends to convey that there were some differences of opinion among the team, but overall they were happy with the presentations. I would never say, “Coca-Cola ARE working on a new formula.” The Coca-Cola company is a collective noun and therefore a singular verb should be used as in, “Coca-Cola IS working on a new formula.”. Also, the word comprise is incorrectly used. People is NOT a collective noun like team or staff. The words collection and money are both singular nouns and are followed by singular verbs. She wanted to make a cake; however, she did not have eggs. Looking forward to your reply. There are a number of well-educated people like myself who prefer the use of “who” for people and “that” for things. A series is singular, while several series, multiple series, etc. Learn more. A very comprehensive and informative list. If “team” is taken as singular then the correct pronoun would be “it” giving “The team was happy with its presentations.” This seems perfectly acceptable to me even though the prepositional noun “presentations” is plural. Are you saying that the correct answer would then be: Which is correct: Our family sold their house. The team is headed to the nationals since winning the state finals. However, these sentences might be better expressed as: Which sentence is correct and why? Teachers approach the topic in a variety of ways which has resulted in 489 noun worksheets being posted on this page. “A family of ducks were resting on the grass.”, Sentences of this form are more difficult than the examples above, because the verb immediately follows the plural noun while the subject is indisputably singular and is enforced by the article. The subject of the sentence is “fear,” which is singular. It there are two dancers on the floor, there is one couple, if there are four dancers on the floor, there are two couples. Incidentally when I queried a number of friends -mostly under 30 – I got an initial 60/40% tending towards using “are” in the above sentence. I respectufully disagree with your use of the plural verb form when referring to “team or staff”. Required fields are marked *. Right: A thousand bushels is a good yield. It’s a bit late in the day, I know. Not only do the present teachers not know grammar but those who taught those teachers did not know it. On TEAS Manual book, I have two questions. While in this case we say that “population” must be considered as a unit not individuals, though it used a plural form. Lets say I’m trying to write those sentences and to keep them short(bolded as an Headline or bullet points). I would feel better if staff MEMBERS take separate vacations. My mother, along with her friends is/are going to the movies. Using the term “one in ___” or “one out of ___” is analogous to saying “___%.” I don’t think you would say “20% of Facebook users is mobile only.”. “Milk and butter” form an awkward singular, because “much” is the subject. Agreement or disagreement with a rule of grammar does not change anything. The word while is used as a conjunction in your example sentence. Therefore, the plural verb are is used. 2 does force the collective noun team to be considered as plural. Therefore, use the plural verb do. We would consider the singular to be correct because the team as a whole wins or loses, not individual members of the team who win or lose. “One of these 10 students is sure to fail the class.” The intent is singular. The fact that the band was British shouldn’t dictate that British English rules should apply. Generally, nationalities take the plural form. We slightly prefer the former for clarity. Agreed? Regarding the second sentence, our Rule 8 of Subject and Verb Agreement says, “The pronouns each, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, and somebody are singular and require singular verbs.” The grammatically correct sentence could be “Would all passengers please take their seats,” or the cumbersome “Would everyone please take his or her seat.”, Sally, Thank you for your time! eg:The Yankees are in first place. The subject in your sentence is pieces. Thanks Phillip Martin for clipart. I have come across people preferring the first and the third ones, and they have argued that we should use ‘who’ in both cases because it comes just after “professionals” and “players”, both of which are living beings. or Thank you. I have finished my homework. When preceding the name, such terms are usually capitalized in names of countries but lowercased in entities below the national level. English plural is being used in an increasing number of instances for all collective nouns. I have a question I’m sure I know the answer to but would like clarification on since I use the phrase daily in my work. I believe you’ll eventually come around to my way of thinking on this one. A period of time, when considered as a unit, takes a singular verb: Five months is over. You could also write “The five-month waiting period is over” since the noun is now period, which also is singular. Our living room furniture needs to be replaced soon. We recommend: Bouquet, Brace (couple hunted and killed), Nest, Nide, Nye, Draft, Nest, School, Shoal (some academics argue that ‘School’ is incorrect, and that Shoal should be used instead). “Now I understand why people in Saudi keep on asking Panadol eventhough they aren’t in pain.”. I feel like “five” is the subject in this sentence, but can’t seem to get much traction here in the office. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb. There are many different types of worksheets in this section on nouns. My friend wrote, “The company these men chose to keep were those who discounted the work of Christ and opted instead for justification by the deeds of the law.” Strictly speaking, “company” is the subject and, being singular, should take a singular verb. The word “data” is already plural. Fractions and percentages, like team and staff, can be either singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition following. To eat and to sleep are… what is the right subject -verb agreement for this sentence? In the case of the song GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME, where the phrase: “And there to meet me IS my mama and papa” seems to treat “mama and papa” as a unit (a couple – is a unit) but individually as mama and papa should be plural, isn’t it? Could you write this sentence without “in four people worldwide” and retain any sense of its intended meaning? 3. I have finished my homework. 5. Doesn’t “tussling” imply individuality, which makes the second example more acceptable? I would like help from you. a family of ducks were resting on the grass, Our response of April 20, 2012, now reflects the family acting as a unit, “A family of ducks was resting on the grass.”. Is this correct? The word this refers to an action described in a previous sentence. The key word in your second to last sentence is “prefer.” You may wish to read our most recent blog on the subject: Rules and Preferences. For instance, someone may say “My number one fear is heart attacks.” Obviously, the speaker fears “a heart attack” or simply “heart attack,” yet so often the subject and predicate nominative (if I remember my junior high school English correctly) don’t agree in number. This means that people is the object of the preposition.’. Therefore, use the singular verb is. ), In formal writing, we recommend the grammatically correct construction even if it might trouble some readers. Since your sentence is not a question, use a period. I receive your newsletter and always enjoy, and learn from, your very clear and concise explanations of grammar rules. 1. We do not use any 3rd party cookies. The band of musicians are playing their instruments in the hall right now. Secondly, another question involving number: “Would everyone please take their seat.” I don’t think anyone would say, “The drivers got in their car and left,” yet it’s common to hear that they should “take their seat.”. Right: The data have been carefully collected. We have already said that people is plural. The statement sounds incorrect to me as I feel there are better ways to structure the same statement, but I would appreciate clarification. Please reload CAPTCHA. Therefore, an army always IS, a parliament always IS, a couple always IS. A series of forums begins today. 50% percent of the crowd was /were supporting our team. 8 Fractions and percentages, like team and staff, can be either singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition following. “A family of ducks was resting on the grass.” An edible, usually sweet and fleshy form of such a structure. There are five kinds of Noun– Proper Noun; Common Noun; Collective Noun Abstract Noun; Material Noun. Suffixes - Adjectives formed from Nouns and Verbs. Therefore, in American English, it is treated as a singular noun and uses the singular verb meets. which is correct to say; I read this article in a newspaper here in the UK, it says: “Nearly 60 per cent of people want George Osborne to rethink his £4.4billion tax credit cuts, a poll shows.”. But in a collective sense, it may take either a singular or a plural verb form {the ruling majority is unlikely to share power} {the majority are nonmembers}. Examples we have seen where a singular verb is used with two subjects connected by and include “Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite snack,” “Profit and loss is important to every business,” and “Spaghetti and meatballs goes well with garlic bread.” In these cases, the interpretation of “oneness of idea” is essentially up to the author of the sentence. thank you. The sub-verb agreement rule regarding collective nouns is what it is———whether or not one “respectfully disagrees” with it. yours is The Greatest ) This is a different situation from the sentence, “One of the men do/does all of the work.” One could also fall into the list of pronouns contained in Rule 8, “The pronouns each, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, and somebody are singular and require singular verbs. One-half of the people is/are? “The Amish is” or “the Amish are” ? Perhaps it is more common in Commonwealth nations. The word one is not a collective noun, it is a singular noun. A number or collection of varied things, especially of a particular group; an assortment: brought home a variety of snacks. Any of us has the opportunity to score well. None of the students(isn’t students are plural?). }, Note other needed corrections in italics. A group of doctors are traveling to Haiti. or If this is a written exercise for students, we assume you have provided instructions to fill in the blank with the correct word. The word in front of who is men, which is plural. 34 % of the parliament was /were in favor of the bill. Would you say “A brood of chickens was tussling for a worm” or “A brood of chickens were tussling for a worm”? A reading from the book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 3-9, Writing “3-9” indicates “three through nine.” Therefore, use the plural, “verses.”. Therefore, the plural work is needed. Better yet, rewrite the sentence to something like: “We performed a series of studies.”. ); This is an example of a statement that would benefit from a more widely understood context. It would be safer to rewrite the sentence: How much milk and how much butter are in the fridge? Verbs must agree with subjects in number and in person (1st/2nd/3rd). 1. the committee debates/debate these questions carefully. Thanks! Since 50 percent of two is one, the sentence is more simply written as “One of the two mangoes is spoiled.” (The subject of the sentence is “One,” which is singular.
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