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S.P.I. Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Grouping..
I don't really know how to expalin my problem but I will give it my best shot and hopefully you guys will get it.
When talking about a certain band/an organization/ a sports team, do we use is or are?
For example, if I were to praise a certain organziation called 'Eidos', which of the following would I say?
a) Eidos is an amazing company
b) Eidos are an amazing company
I hope you guys understand what I am trying to say here.
Thanks.
When talking about a certain band/an organization/ a sports team, do we use is or are?
For example, if I were to praise a certain organziation called 'Eidos', which of the following would I say?
a) Eidos is an amazing company
b) Eidos are an amazing company
I hope you guys understand what I am trying to say here.
Thanks.
Top answer
This is a very popular question! With a band, a sports team, you may use either singular or plural, depending on your intention. If you're referring to the members collectively, use plural.
- This is a very popular question!
- With a band, a sports team, you may use either singular or plural, depending on your intention.
- If you're referring to the members collectively, use plural.
- " There may be exceptions, but I cant' think of one at the moment.
- But you could say, "I love [the] Eidos company!
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5 Answers
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This is a very popular question!
With a band, a sports team, you may use either singular or plural, depending on your intention. If you're referring to the members collectively, use plural.
We don't normally use the plural with "company." There may be exceptions, but I cant' think of one at the moment.
With a band, a sports team, you may use either singular or plural, depending on your intention. If you're referring to the members collectively, use plural.
We don't normally use the plural with "company." There may be exceptions, but I cant' think of one at the moment.
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S.P.I.a) Eidos is an amazing companyAs an American, I would say is. Americans tend to make the agreement with the form of the collective noun.
b) Eidos are an amazing company
The team ... is ...
The teams ... are ...
The British are more likely to make "notional" agreement:
Th
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I am sorry to bump this thread back to the top but I have a question.
Avangi, you said that we could say the following:
The Beatles was formed in the 1960's.
However if I understood CJ right, we could also say:
The beatles were formed in the 1960's.
Am I right? The Beatles in this case take a plural form of a collective noun
Avangi, you said that we could say the following:
The Beatles was formed in the 1960's.
However if I understood CJ right, we could also say:
The beatles were formed in the 1960's.
Am I right? The Beatles in this case take a plural form of a collective noun
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In some cases, both are acceptable in the same sentence, where context doesn't make it clear whether you wish to speak of the band as an entity or as a collection of individuals. You may then use singular or plural to make your intention clear to the reader.
IMHO, plural doesn't work with this context - although it certainly sounds good, since "Beatles" is plural.
IMHO, plural doesn't work with this context - although it certainly sounds good, since "Beatles" is plural.
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S.P.I.However if I understood CJ right, we could also say:The Beatles is a proper noun referring to a single group of men, not a collective noun. My remarks about the tendency (as I estimate it) in American writing and speech applied to collective nouns. I should have made that more c
The beatles were formed in the 1960's.
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