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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

What's correct, 'is' a good team or 'are' a good team?

Hello,

when referring to a sports team, what do you say? For example:

"Manchester United is a good team"

or

"Manchester United are a good team"

And does it make any difference whether the team name is a plural form or not? For example, would you say:

"Blackburn Rovers is a good team"

or

"Blackburn Rovers are a good team"

Thank you very much for your answers, really appreciate it :-)
  

Top answer

I would say: Manchester United is a good team Blackburn Rovers are good team It isn't mistake to say that Blackburn Rovers is a good team. But in my opinion, if the team name is plural, you should use the plural and if it is singular you should use singular.

— Skif

  • I would say: Manchester United is a good team Blackburn Rovers are good team It isn't mistake to say that Blackburn Rovers is a good team.
  • But in my opinion, if the team name is plural, you should use the plural and if it is singular you should use singular.
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9 Answers
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I would say:

Manchester United is a good team

Blackburn Rovers are good team
It isn't mistake to say that Blackburn Rovers is a good team. But in my opinion, if the team name is plural, you should use the plural and if it is singular you should use singular.
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Hello skif, thanks for your quick reply. Are you a native english speaker?

Would it be strictly wrong grammar to say "Manchester united are a good team"? Or can you use both versions?
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Either singular or plural in both cases. Usage varies between AmE and BrE. The plural 'Rovers' would certainly lean me toward plural (New York is a great team. The Yankees are a great team), but there is no requirement for its use.
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Hello Mister Micawber, thanks for your reply, appreciate your help. I really feel stupid now, but I don't understand what you mean. For example, "Either singular or plural in both cases.", how do you mean that? And, "but there is no requirement for its use." - no requirement for what use?? Can you please elaborate? Thank you very much in advance, I'm really interested in this issue.
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I'm particularly interested in whether "Manchester United ARE a good team" would be grammatically correct. Can you even say that? Would any native english speaker say that? And is there any difference in BE and AE concerning this matter?
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"Either singular or plural in both cases.", how do you mean that?

Man United is a good team.

Man United are a good team.

Blackburn Rovers is a good team.

Blackburn Rovers are a good team.


And, "but there is no requirement for its use." - no requirement for what use??- Use of singular/plural verb with teams. Note tha
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You said, usage varies between AmE and BrE. In which way does it vary?

Concerning "Manchester are a good team", you said you would use it, but would you prefer it over "Manchester is a good team"?
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You said, usage varies between AmE and BrE. In which way does it vary?-- Plural verb after a group noun is more characteristic of BrE than of AmE.

Concerning "Manchester are a good team", you said you would use it, but would you prefer it over "Manchester is a good team"?-- To the best of my introspection, I have no preference. It depends on where my head is at: one team or 11
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