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Cute572 Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Singular or Plural Pronouns
The Class took their examinations in two separete rooms.
Or
The Class took its examinations in two separete rooms.
Which one is correct?
In my opinion first one seemed to be correct. But then read somewhere that class is a collective noun and should be treated as one unit so we use singular pronoun.
Do clear this point and tell me the right pronoun to be used.
Thanks!
Or
The Class took its examinations in two separete rooms.
Which one is correct?
In my opinion first one seemed to be correct. But then read somewhere that class is a collective noun and should be treated as one unit so we use singular pronoun.
Do clear this point and tell me the right pronoun to be used.
Thanks!
Top answer
Dear friend, both a correct, but the first option is generally more common among British English speakers. The choice of the pronoun largely depends on your intention: if you wish to speak of a class as a number of individuals, you should resort to a plural pronoun, but if you want to mention a class as a single unit as such, your choice is a singular pronoun. The same applies to some other collective nouns: The committee hasn't reached a decision yet.
- Dear friend, both a correct, but the first option is generally more common among British English speakers.
- The choice of the pronoun largely depends on your intention: if you wish to speak of a class as a number of individuals, you should resort to a plural pronoun, but if you want to mention a class as a single unit as such, your choice is a singular pronoun.
- The same applies to some other collective nouns: The committee hasn't reached a decision yet.
- - Implication: a single unit as part of parliament, etc.
- The committee haven't reached a decision yet.
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5 Answers
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Dear friend,
both a correct, but the first option is generally more common among British English speakers. The choice of the pronoun largely depends on your intention: if you wish to speak of a class as a number of individuals, you should resort to a plural pronoun, but if you want to mention a class as a single unit as such, your choice is a singular pronoun. The same applies to some o
both a correct, but the first option is generally more common among British English speakers. The choice of the pronoun largely depends on your intention: if you wish to speak of a class as a number of individuals, you should resort to a plural pronoun, but if you want to mention a class as a single unit as such, your choice is a singular pronoun. The same applies to some o
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Cute572The Class took their examinations in two separate rooms.
The Class took its examinations in two separate rooms. There's nothing wrong grammatically with either version, but in terms of communication, the plural "examinations" makes your task more d
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Hi,
A very minor comment that you don't need to use a capital letter for the word 'class'.
Clive
A very minor comment that you don't need to use a capital letter for the word 'class'.
Clive
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To add additional information to Avangi's post, if I saw "its exam... two separate room" I would think the entire class took the first part of the exam in one room and the second part in another room.
If I say "their exams ... two separate rooms" I would think of the class as many individuals, and some of them took their exam in one room while some took it in another.
If I say "their exams ... two separate rooms" I would think of the class as many individuals, and some of them took their exam in one room while some took it in another.
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Thank you so much Guys for such informative answers.
It was really helpful
It was really helpful
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