Urgent: go or goes?

Question

Sentence: What will happen if American Airlines go/goes bankrupt?Question: What will come in the sentence go or goes and why?Thanks

Noctivagus · Accepted Answer

Both are possible. With Company Names or other groups or corporations the plural form of the verb is often used, especially in BE. While AE normally tends to use a singular verb in those cases, I'm unsure what an American would think of this. They also might consider "go" the better answer here, because the name of the company is obviously a plural noun....

BarbaraPA · Answer

It's a single company. I'd say "goes" 100% of the time.

Anonymous · Answer

Grammar GeekIt's a single company. I'd say "goes" 100% of the time.

Oh ****! I used "go" after Googling

. First I was using "goes" because of the same logic you mentioned. Why is English so complicated and who made it a global language of communcation and why?[6]

Thanks everybody for helping me by the way [Y]

BarbaraPA · Answer

"Go" is also okay, especially in British English and other places that use the plural verb for companies, governments, etc.

As the first answer said, both are correct. "Go" will sound odd to most Americans, but I expect "goes" would sound odd to most of our UK cousins.

Anonymous · Answer

Grammar Geek"Go" is also okay, especially in British English and other places that use the plural verb for companies, governments, etc.

As the first answer said, both are correct. "Go" will sound odd to most Americans, but I expect "goes" would sound odd to most of our UK cousins.

I was/am confused, so I posted this question in another English forum also. And I must say after listing to the opinions of members of both forums, my head is spinning royally

.

Anyway, here is my logic after patiently pondering over all opinions. See, sometimes in English we use singular verb "has" despite the third-person having "s" at its end. Because the "s" does not "pluralize" the third-person, it just happen to be a character/part of it. I wish I could recall a proper example for this, but my mind is so full of things right now, you know, that any such example is not coming to my mind.

So the point is similar logic should be applied to this Airlines thing. We should ignore "s" at its end and should treat it as a single entity. Therefore, using single verb goes would be the most correct and logical thing/bet. What do you think?

Naturally and impulsively I had used the single verb goes first time, it is during the proof-reading I become confused and later Google adds to this confusion..

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousAirlines We should ignore "s" at its end

Yes. You have a double problem here!

1. Both the British and the Americans are going to think of 'American Airlines' as a singular in the sense that both recognize that it is only one company. The 's' will be ignored. The 's' at the end of a company name will not be considered the mark of plurality for purposes of verb agreement either in BrE or in AmE.

2. In BrE a company - even a single company - is thought of as composed of many people, so in BrE you would use go. In AmE a single company is a single company regardless of the fact that it is composed of many people, so in AmE you would use goes.

So BrE will have

What will happen if American Airlines go bankrupt?

And AmE will have

What will happen if American Airlines goes bankrupt?

______________________

To make it more confusing, I'm told that sometimes BrE makes the agreement in this context just like the Americans do.

CJ

Urgent: go or goes?

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