Explain in terms of grammer

Question

Kindly explain as to why "is" and not "are" and vice versa, is used in the following sentences:

a. The army is / are marching.

b. The public is / are aware.

c. The police is / are investigating.

d. The staff is/are cooperative.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

desk modern 619 Explain in terms of grammar

Mass nouns can represent many individual items, or a single group.

British English tends to treat these differently from American English. These are American English:

a. The army is marching. (There is one cohesive unit we call an army. We do not think of the individual soldiers and officers))

b. The public is aware.

c. The police are investigating. (There are different entities in a police department. We think of it as many separate people or departments.)

d. The staff are cooperative. (Staff consists of many individuals.)

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