Let\u2019s talk about nouns with split personalities.<\/p>\n
A collective noun (e.g., group<\/em>, team<\/em>, jury<\/em>, flock<\/em>, herd<\/em>) is a paradox: singular in form (the<\/strong><\/em> team<\/em>, a<\/strong><\/em> jury<\/em>, one<\/strong><\/em> flock<\/em>) but plural in meaning\u2014who ever heard of a one-person group or a one-goat herd?<\/p>\n Whenever we use a collective noun as a subject, we must decide whether it takes a singular or a plural verb. American writers and editors prefer the singular form unless logic demands the plural. The key is context: is the sentence about the group as a unit or is it more about the individuals in that group? It is advisable to write The class <\/em>is<\/strong><\/em> studying Shakespeare<\/em>. But it is also advisable to write The class <\/em>are<\/strong><\/em> studying at <\/em>their<\/strong><\/em> desks<\/em>.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, most sticklers cringe when they hear or read \u201cThe class are<\/em> studying \u2026,\u201d no matter what follows. If someone is determined never to use a plural verb with a collective noun, there are ways to avoid the problem. In the above example, a simple fix is to substitute students<\/em> for class<\/em>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s try a few more. The jury are fighting among themselves<\/em>. Make it jurors<\/em> instead. The regiment were invited to bring their friends and families<\/em>. Switching to soldiers<\/em> would be an improvement. Finding themselves at a stalemate, the committee decided to put down their pens and repair to their homes.<\/em> You could say committee members<\/em>, or you could rewrite the whole stodgy sentence: Unable to end the stalemate, the committee decided to adjourn<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sometimes choosing the \u201cright\u201d form is a matter of taste. Some writers would be fine with The audience jumped to its feet<\/em>. Others would insist on jumped to <\/em>their<\/strong><\/em> feet<\/em>, feeling that its <\/em>turns the audience into a cartoonish beast with a plethora of lower extremities.<\/p>\n There is a subgroup of collective nouns that take a plural verb more often than not. Examples include bunch<\/em>, handful<\/em>, variety<\/em>, and\u2014though some may not agree\u2014couple<\/em>. Most readers would wince at the awkward singular verbs in these sentences: A bunch of motorcycles is speeding through town<\/em>; A handful of his friends was urging him not to run<\/em>; A variety of<\/em> delicious<\/em> fruits <\/em>is used in the dessert<\/em>.<\/p>\n As for couple<\/em>, many writers want it plural unless the sentence sounds absurd otherwise\u2014and such sentences are rare. After all, what does couple<\/em> mean if not \u201cthe two of them\u201d? Keep couple<\/em> plural, and you will avoid abominations like Their friends say the couple looks alike <\/em>or The couple was taking naps in adjoining rooms<\/em>.<\/p>\n When collective nouns become roadblocks to effective sentences, resourceful writers can always find ways around them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pop quiz<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. The crowd is\/are<\/strong> filling up the arena. <\/p>\n Pop quiz answers<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. The crowd is<\/strong> filling up the arena. Let\u2019s talk about nouns with split personalities. A collective noun (e.g., group, team, jury, flock, herd) is a paradox: singular in form (the team, a jury, one flock) but plural in meaning\u2014who ever heard of a one-person group or a one-goat herd? Whenever we use a collective noun as a subject, we must decide whether […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,26,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-effective-writing","category-singular-vs-plural","category-subject-and-verb-agreement"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2. The enemy consists of\/consist of<\/strong> that country\u2019s fiercest warriors.
\n3. The public is\/are<\/strong> invited to sit anywhere on the lawn.<\/p>\n
\n2. The enemy consists of<\/strong> that country\u2019s fiercest warriors.
\n3. A good case could be made for either option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"