Page 551 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

Singular path /pa:O/ roof/ruo£/ truth /tru:O/ wreath /rtO/
youth /ju:O/
Plural
paths /pa:Os/ or /pa:fJz/ roofs /ru:fs/ or /ru:vz/ truths /tru:Os/ or /tru:fJz/ wreaths /ri:Os/ or /ri:fJz/
youths /ju:Os/ or /ju:fJz/
bank theBBC choir class club
committee England (the
football team) family
firm
government jury ministry orchestra
party
public school staff team union
singular and plural (4): singular nouns with plural verbs 526
Third person singular forms (e.g. catches, wants, runs) and possessive forms (e.g. George's, Mark's, Joe's) follow the same pronunciation rules as regular plurals.
526 singular and plural (4):
singular nouns with plural verbs
1 groups of people: The team is/are •••
In British English, singular words like family, team, government, which refer to groups of people, can have either singular or plural verbs and pronouns.
The team islare going to lose.
Plural forms are common when the group is seen as a collection of people doing personal things like deciding, hoping or wanting. Singular forms are more common when the group is seen as an impersonal unit. Compare:
- My family have decided to move to York. They're going in ApriL
The average family has 3.6 members. It is smaller than 50 years ago.
- My firm are wonderfuL They do all they can for me.
My firm was founded in the 18th century.
We prefer who as a relative pronoun with plural forms, and which with singular forms. Compare:
The committee, who are hoping to announce important changes, ...
The committee, which is elected at the annual meeting, ...
When a group noun is used with a singular determiner (e.g. alan, each, every, this, that), singular verbs and pronouns are normal. Compare:
The team are full ofenthusiasm.
A team which is full ofenthusiasm has a better chance of winning.
(More natural than A team who are full ...) Sometimes singular and plural forms are mixed.
The group gave its first concert in June and they are now planning a tour.
Examples of group nouns which can be used with both singular and plural verbs in British English:
In American English singular verbs are normal with most of these nouns in all cases (though family can have a plural verb). Plural pronouns can be used.
The team is in Detroit this weekend. They expect to win.
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