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Vsuresh Posted 4 years ago
Grammar

Plural verb with "Police"

Hi

I came across this piece of information in BBC Learning English

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/course/towards-advanced/unit-20/session-1#:~:text=Police%20is%20a%20noun%20which,always%20uses%20a%20plural%20verb.

"Nouns with no singular

'The police are coming! The police are coming!' (They)

Some nouns in English are collective. They represent a group or number of objects together. In many cases, these nouns are considered plural: they are collections of single pieces kept together. Because of this, they take a plural verb and have no singular noun form."


My question:

I think for collective nouns take singular or plural verbs depending on it is meant.

The jury is unanimous in its verdict.

The jury are divided in their verdict.

So, can't we apply the same rule to "police" and use a singular verb when it means same as the underlined portion? (Why is it that we use plural verb for police always?)


Please give your views.

Suresh


  

Top answer

vsuresh So, can't we apply the same rule to "police" and use a singular verb when it means same as the underlined portion? No. ) Nobody knows.

— Anonymous

  • vsuresh So, can't we apply the same rule to "police" and use a singular verb when it means same as the underlined portion?
  • No.
  • ) Nobody knows.
  • The word is unique that way.
  • It started life around 1450 as a French borrowing meaning something like "policy" or "government", which is suggestive.
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4 Answers
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vsureshSo, can't we apply the same rule to "police" and use a singular verb when it means same as the underlined portion?

No.

vsuresh(Why is it that we use plural verb for police always?)

Nobody knows. The word is unique that way. It started life around 1450 as a French borrowing meaning something like "policy" or

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Police;

The police are on the way. (We understand that a unit consists of more than one officer.)

A police officer is on the way. (One person)

In American English, jury is singular. A jury is an assembly of several people to judge a case. In the US, 12 is usual, although for minor crimes, there are six.

The jury has one opinion that is the consensus of the members

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vsureshPlease give your views.

police and cattle are singular in form but plural in meaning. To these we can add a few nouns that end mostly in -try: poultry, cavalry, infantry, gentry, peasantry. They always take a plural verb, so the 's' ending of the present tense is never used with them.

jury is not a member of

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Plural verbs began to be used with many nouns denoting groups of people in the mid-19th century in British English. This was after the English language had been exported to America, which explains why this change didn't happen in America.

I have encountered Britons who think it's incorrect to say: Arsenal is losing the match. I don't know whether Americans think it incorrect to sa

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