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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Collective noun -- FAMILY: "is" or "are"?

0 My Study Guide says that a collective noun is considered singular when it refers to a group as a whole: "His family 01b00was02b00 invited."02br
02br
00Then in the Self-Check Test following that discussion had this sentence: "Her family (is, are) well."02br
00I believed that this "family" was referring to the group as a whole, so I chose "is."02br
00But the answer is actually "are."02br
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00Now I'm working on the Exam (that I will send to American School to have it graded) and the exact sentence is in the exam. "Her family ( is , are ) well."02br
02br
00I would like to know if the answer really is "are."02br
00Isn't the sentence basically the same as the given example: "His family was invited"?02br
02br
00THANKS!!! =) 0-
  

Top answer

0Hi,02br 02br 00As you note, it depends on whether you are thinking of the family as a whole or as several members. 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-

— Clive

  • 0Hi,02br 02br 00As you note, it depends on whether you are thinking of the family as a whole or as several members.
  • 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-
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10 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
00As you note, it depends on whether you are thinking of the family as a whole or as several members. But I would definitely say 'is' for your answer.02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-
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0 So the Self-Check Test is probably wrong?02br
02br
00Thank you! 0-
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1- Her family are well, because each one of them is fine (it is not seen as a group or a collective noun as some of them may not be well. So all the members are well. ( All the members of the family are well.)

2- When you send an invitation to a family, you don't send it to each member of the family or when you send an invitation to a family you don't mean that you are sending it to some
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Too late for the student concerned, but here's some advice from Advanced Grammar In Use, Cambridge University Press, 2005:

You can use both the singular and plural forms of verbs with singular nouns that refer to a group of some kind.
You use the singular when referring to the group as a whole unit and the plural form when the focus is on the group as a collection of individua
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family - singular

families - plural

My family is well.

Those families who attend the semimar are courteous
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It can be both unless you have only one family member!
the Brittish say more often "my family are" because they consider "family" as being a group of people and not a sigular noun
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I had the same question, thank you.
But how about making questions with the;
If some one asks:"Is your family invited?" , How shall one answer?
I myself think saying "yes, It is." is not correct. what do you suggest?
Thank you
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The question is more likely to be phrased as 'Has/Have your family been invited?' One possible response is, 'Yes, we have'.
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the family are well, since it refers to the members of the family and not to the whole family.
thank you anonymous, u r a star.
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Hii, I know it's far too late to help you, but maybe this is useful for others.
Okay, my English method says: "There is no absolute rule as to whether collective nouns should be considered grammatically as singular or plural. As a general rule, if the collection of things is functioning as a single unit then it is considered as singular; if, however, the noun describes a collection of individu
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