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I know that the word "people" can be singular to refer to a specific unit, be they nationality, ethnic, or tribe. With that being said, is it correct if I write in my essay:

The people of USA has

I've consulted dictionaries and all the websites pertaining to English grammar, but not even one gives me a clearer idea on this usage.

herisson
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rutuehurhu
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  • Just because peoples is a word, it doesn't mean that people can be singular. – Peter Shor Feb 09 '15 at 12:20
  • Would you care to elaborate why it takes plural form even though it refers to a unit or a group of US citizens? – rutuehurhu Feb 09 '15 at 12:21
  • If you said "the group of people" you would said 'has,' but when you just say "the people" you are referring to the people themselves, not the people as a singular unit, and so you say 'have.' –  Feb 09 '15 at 13:30
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    I think the use in the UK may be somewhat different (I'm thinking "people" is sometimes used as "nation" might be), but in the US it would be "the people are". – Hot Licks Feb 10 '15 at 00:55
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    I think you can use a singular verb with people if it has the indefinite article before it: "when a people is oppressed ...". This sounds old-fashioned to me. (And Google Ngrams shows that the plural verb is used just as often here.) – Peter Shor Feb 10 '15 at 01:54
  • Mysti Sinha. No, I know the distinction between person and people. What I am asking here is the use of people as singular unit. I don't see much use of "people's" singular form in English language so it's baffling that some find it errant and some find it permissible. – rutuehurhu Feb 10 '15 at 04:30
  • No, you're asking if the phrase you have proposed is acceptable for an essay. I'm saying that people is a plural noun, you cannot write or say for example: "The four million peoples who live in Mississippi" It MUST be: The four million people who live..." I've offered a valid alternative with population a noun that can be used in the singular and in the plural. The use of a people is rare but that indeed is singular, however as this link shows it is more often used as a predicate noun http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/azar/grammar_ex/message_board/archive/articles/00048.htm – Mari-Lou A Feb 10 '15 at 07:44
  • I have no idea what the actual population of Mississippi is by the way. :) – Mari-Lou A Feb 10 '15 at 07:45

1 Answers1

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Matching verbs to collective nouns

Collective nouns are nouns which stand for a group or collection of people or things. They include words such as audience, committee, police, crew, family, government, group, and team.

Most collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural, with either a singular or plural verb:

√ The whole family was at the table. [singular verb]

√ The whole family were at the table. [plural verb]

There are a few collective nouns which are always used with a plural verb, the commonest of which are police and people:

√ She’s happy with the way the police have handled the case.

X She’s happy with the way the police has handled the case.

If you aren’t sure whether to use a singular or a plural verb with a collective noun, look it up. Most dictionaries will tell you which is correct.

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

People is the plural form of person e.g."A person lives in that apartment" [singular verb] and "Several people live in that building" [plural verb]

Hence the beginning of the OP's sentence should read:

The people of the US have...
(note the addition of the definite article, which must precede either US or USA).

Alternatively, one could use the singular collective noun population instead of people:

The population in the USA has approximately doubled over the past 50 years, with a total population of 302 million (as at July 2007):
Source

A people

When speaking about a class, a nation, a community or any specific population then the expression a people can be used, in that case a people is a singular noun because it represents everybody in that particular group, it is an entity, a total sum, a single unit. I might even describe it as a type of mass (or uncountable) noun; however, it is not grammatical to say: A people of the US is, instead we say:

The US is a patriotic people
The Victorians were a people with high moral standards
The Canadians are a people who enjoy nature and spending time outside.

Note the verb that follows who in the above example is in the plural form, it is
"a people (Canadians) who enjoy", NOT "a people who enjoys".

I could, if I wanted, rephrase the sentences so that a people precedes the name of the nation/population/community/tribe etc. This type of construction is not common, but it is grammatical.

As a people the US is particularly patriotic
As a people the Canadians enjoy nature and spending time outside
As a people the Victorians had a strict moral code

However when a people is used alone (without specifying their identity) the verb that follows is in the singular. Taken from an American English writing website Litreactor

You clearly understand more on the topic than suggested by the one superficial statement I quoted: "Grammar is never wrong or mistaken." That's a false statement. A dialect is never wrong or mistaken, and a people is never wrong for speaking a minority dialect, even if it brings unfair bias and persecution against them.

For further details and examples see Longman's People, singular and plural

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