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I'm kinda confused and can anyone say whats the right form and elaborate as to why

Matthew
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    The USA can be regarded as a country(singular) or a union of states(plural) so both. However, "The USA don't" grates in my ear. On the other hand, "These United States don't" sounds just fine. – TsSkTo Oct 30 '15 at 20:31
  • @TsSkTo: That's probably because the other, far more natural, name, America, can be used to circumvent the ambiguity. – Ricky Oct 30 '15 at 20:37
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    @Ricky It's also a misnomer as America is a continent not a country, even if it's often used colloquially to describe the USA. In the end, call it what you want, we'll know what you're talking about. – TsSkTo Oct 30 '15 at 20:43
  • @TsSkTo Well, if you wish to get all pedantic about it: America is NOT a continent. North America is. England is not a country but a province, and a part of - whatever it is these days; but we've been saying England for quite a few centuries now. Australia is a continent. I can't even remember what the official name of that country is. India is a subcontinent. I don't know anyone who calls it anything other than India, including people who were born, raised and educated there. – Ricky Oct 30 '15 at 21:02
  • If you say "the USA" then it's treated as singular. Other constructs must be analyzed on a one-by-one basis (and there's likely a US/UK thing in there somewhere). – Hot Licks Oct 30 '15 at 22:06
  • No, we don't say "USA don't" or "USA doesn't". – Drew Oct 30 '15 at 22:46
  • @Drew: Why would we? We still say "WE don't," which is in keeping with the Forefathers (and Abe's) ideas on the subject. It ain't just of the people, but by the people, is what I (and Donald Trump) always say. That's because we're all in favor of taking responsibility for everything. So long as it doesn't affect us personally. – Ricky Oct 31 '15 at 01:06
  • @Ricky: No idea how your comment (whatever it might be about) could possibly be related to the comment I wrote. Sorry. – Drew Oct 31 '15 at 16:03

2 Answers2

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The country is singular, and hence the name is treated singularly. Yes, if you diagram the phase out, you have an adjective (United), a plural noun (States), and a prepositional phrase (of America), and so grammatically it would appear to be plural. However, the phrase as a whole is the proper name of a country, and hence should be singular. Thus, the correct answer is "The USA doesn't..."

Other responses and comments have pointed out that, historically, the origin of the term referenced the plurality of the states ("these United States," etc.). This is accurate, and when the plurality of the states is the key consideration, then use of the plural verb would be appropriate. However, I think it's safe to say that anyone who is using the acronym USA is by definition treating the country as a singleton.

It's worth pointing out that you might receive a different response from native speakers of British English, where collective/group nouns require plural verbs. (US: The group is happy. / UK: The group are happy.) But since the original poster was speaking about the US, the question in the context of American English is implied.

Nonnal
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"In these United States" is a common expression. It is also historical. Sometime around the Civil War, or shortly thereafter, the United States, a union of independent states (plural), became a concept and a single entity (singular). Ever since, whenever it is (singular) mentioned, it has been customary to refer to it as a single entity (singular). That said, there's enough ambiguity left in the matter to use the plural form ("in these the United States" - with or without the article).

When in doubt, just say "America."

Ricky
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