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"The group are all here."

The British seem more inclined to use a plural verb ("are") in sentences like this than Americans are.

At some time in the past it struck me that there are some singular collective nouns with which Americans do normally use a plural verb, so maybe the list of verbs with which Americans do that is simply smaller than the corresponding British list. But I find I can't remember what examples I had in mind. Has anyone compiled those lists?

Edwin Ashworth
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Michael Hardy
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  • Can't give you a list but I can confirm that even the BBC has given up on strict adherence to number. It's normal for them to announce that "The government have released figures..." or "The Metropolitan Police have published...". – David Garner Jun 14 '15 at 18:32
  • I'm British and I would see no objection to using either is or are with group. But I would never ever say Manchester United is playing Chelsea, or England is playing Slovenia. It would always be are. – WS2 Jun 14 '15 at 19:35
  • If you want a list that doesn't distinguish US from UK, Google "collective nouns list." – Maverick Jun 20 '15 at 02:52
  • Michael - not sure which part of Britain you are referring to. "The group is all here," is the only version of this I have ever heard in Scotland or London. – Rory Alsop Sep 28 '16 at 09:20
  • @WS2 A quick google for "Manchester United is playing" reveals lots of people using it in that singular way. – Max Williams Sep 28 '16 at 10:30
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    @Max Williams There don't seem to be many around here (I live in Gtr Manchester), and I've only heard non-Brits using the plural verb with teams. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 28 '16 at 10:31
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    @David Garner I'm not sure that singular agreement with 'police' has ever been standard. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 28 '16 at 10:35
  • @EdwinAshworth regardless of what you've heard locally, it remains that many people seem to be using "Manchester United is playing". Perhaps they are all from outside of Manchester but I don't think that really matters. – Max Williams Sep 28 '16 at 10:38
  • Very relevant: There are no shortage of applications?. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 28 '16 at 10:39
  • @Max Williams Perhaps the 8:1 ratio of Google hits in favour of "Manchester United play" rather than "Manchester United plays" should be considered less subjective than anecdotal views. And certainly more acceptable than merely giving figures in support of one usage. And this is reflected when the parameters are tightened to exclude false positives (to ""Manchester United play/s Liverpool" etc). But there are previous posts discussing the acceptability of synesis. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 28 '16 at 10:49
  • @EdwinAshworth I wasn't attempting to say that one was more correct than the other, or even more popular. I was just pointing out, in response to WS2 saying that he/she "would never say 'is'", that many other people do say 'is', and so both versions are in common usage (regardless of which is more popular). – Max Williams Sep 28 '16 at 11:08
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    @MaxWilliams I don't know who these people are, but I watch a good deal of football on TV (MotD etc) and you certainly don't hear pundits like Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer saying United is doing anything. – WS2 Sep 28 '16 at 11:42
  • @WS2 if you google it you can get an idea of who they are - various sports websites, individuals etc. As I've stated, I'm not trying to argue for the correctness of "is", I'm just saying that, regardless of what you or the pundits would say, many people seem to say "is". That's my entire point. There's no hidden subtext where I'm trying to make an argument about it being correct or something. – Max Williams Sep 28 '16 at 12:04
  • @MaxWilliams Football is now such a massive global industry that I can well imagine that all kinds of odd expressions and forms are creeping into the jargon. – WS2 Sep 28 '16 at 16:41

3 Answers3

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Catherine Soanes, an ex-lexicographer and EFL teacher, writing as a guest blogger at Oxford Dictionaries' OxfordWords blog, says that it is meaningful to distinguish the most normal practices in the UK and the US:

The British view…

[T]he verb form used [after a collective noun] can depend on the emphasis of the sentence, and accepted regional usage, so no wonder many people are confused. In British English it’s absolutely fine to treat most collective nouns as either singular or plural – you can say my husband’s family is very religious or my husband’s family are very religious.

…and from across the Atlantic

American English takes a slightly different approach to the agreement of verbs with collective nouns. There is a very strong preference for the use of singular verbs with such nouns, so in American English you are much more likely to see, for example:

His company’s legal team is investigating the matter.

rather than:

His company’s legal team are investigating the matter.

However, using a plural is acceptable in American English if the writer or speaker wants to emphasize the individuals in a group rather than regarding the group as a single entity:

The NY audience were their usual reserved selves.

I'd add that logical agreement is the norm in the UK. To tweak Ms Soanes' caveat, 'Using a plural is usual in British English if the writer or speaker wants to emphasize the individuals in a group rather than regarding the group as a single entity, but not otherwise.' Thus 'The team was founded in 1878' but 'The team were arguing among themselves.'

And note that logical agreement avoids some continuity agreement problems such as

  • ??/*The majority of the population is English speakers.
  • ??The team was beaten; they were arguing among themselves.
  • ??The staff has not returned to work – they are not satisfied with the current pay offer.'
Edwin Ashworth
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As an speaker of American English, I would use "is" as "group" is a singular noun despite it being collective. If the plural "groups" was used, then I would use "are".

"The group is here."

"The groups are here"

It's the same reason why we refer to the "United States" as singular despite it being visually plural.

Rowan Silverleaf
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    I don't see how you can say it's the same reason. The word "group", unlike the word "states", is singular. – Michael Hardy Jul 02 '15 at 16:50
  • The US is a singular cohesive collective of states as opposed to a loose collection of States. You think of yourself as American, not Texan or Minnesotan. – Rowan Silverleaf Jul 02 '15 at 16:55
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    I understand that, but it's not the same reason; it's a different reason. – Michael Hardy Jul 02 '15 at 16:57
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    Other than the historical reason, the resurrection of the Union from the ashes of the Civil War, it is the same reason. If the US was still loosely affiliated within itself as it was, it would still be "the United States are". – Rowan Silverleaf Jul 02 '15 at 17:21
  • Would you use 'The majority of the population is English speakers'? 'The majority of the population are English speakers' (fine in the UK)? You'd probably use a workaround. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 28 '16 at 12:10
  • 'The US is a singular cohesive collective of states as opposed to a loose collection of States.' Can't a group be similarly seen (and treated similarly when it comes to verb agreement) to be a singular cohesive collective? – Edwin Ashworth Jun 12 '19 at 13:24
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"The majority of the population is English speakers" is grammatically correct in American English, although it sounds awkward. The subject of the sentence is majority ("...of the population" is simply a prepositional phrase used to clarify the type of majority). The word majority is singular, thus takes a singular verb.
My workaround would probably be "English speakers make up the majority of the population."

Hellion
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Candis Gillett
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    Both is and are are possible in American English with majority/minority. And I'm not sure how your post answers the question. – Arm the good guys in America Oct 12 '17 at 15:57
  • @AmE speaker Has 'American English' ever been rigorously defined? Certainly I tend to use 'the English [I believe is] normally found in the UK' rather than 'British English'. But +1 for 'Both is and are are possible, in the English normally encountered in America, with majority/minority', if I may be so bold. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 12 '19 at 13:47