Subject and Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns
Do you use a singular or plural verb to match a collective noun such as team or staff? The answer is, “It depends.” If these nouns are acting as a unit, use a singular verb.
Example: The team is heading for practice this afternoon.
If the sentence indicates more individuality, use a plural verb.
Example: The team are eating with their families tonight.
Would you choose is or are in the example below?
Example (an actual headline from CNN.com): Nearly one in four people worldwide is/are Muslim.
People is NOT a collective noun like team or staff. It is a plural noun. However, the subject is one, which is singular and takes a singular verb. So the answer is is. In the above sentence, the prepositional phrase is in four people. This means that people is the object of the preposition.
Let’s get real here, however: The intention in this headline is to let us know that nearly 25% of the world’s population is Muslim. That intention gets lost by focusing on one is. It might be better to reword the sentence: Nearly 25% of people in the world are Muslim.
Why is 25% of people are correct? The subject of this sentence is 25%. Fractions and percentages, like team and staff, can be either singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition following. In this case people is the object of the preposition of. We have already said that people is plural. Therefore, 25% becomes plural in meaning.
Example: Twelve percent of the list has/have volunteered to help with the fundraising.
The subject is twelve percent, which will be either singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition that follows. In this sentence, the object of the preposition is list, which is always singular. So the correct answer is has.
To learn more about subject and verb agreement, click here.
Ready to challenge yourself?
Pop Quiz
1. The team is/are headed to the nationals since winning the state finals.
2. The mock trial team was/were happy with their presentations to the judge.
3. Nearly 25% of the population is/are Muslim.
4. Our staff meets/meet on Tuesday mornings to discuss customer complaints.
5. Our staff works/work hard to meet their goals and deadlines.
Pop Quiz Answers
1. The team is headed to the nationals since winning the state finals.
Team is being used as a cohesive unit so a singular verb is required.
2. The mock trial team were happy with their presentations to the judge.
Team is plural because separate presentations were given. Also, when the plural their is used, the implication is that the collective noun is being used as a plural.
3. Nearly 25% of the population is Muslim.
The word population is a collective noun that can take either a singular or plural verb, depending on the intention of the author. The intention here is to indicate that this percentage represents a single group.
4. Our staff meets on Tuesday mornings to discuss customer complaints.
Staff, a collective noun, is acting as a single unit in this sentence.
5. Our staff work hard to meet their goals and deadlines.
Their is a clue that staff is not acting as a unit. Therefore, the plural work is needed.
How do you know that work, not works, is plural? Think about which word you would use with he and which word you would use with they.
Examples:
She works too hard for her age.
They work harder when the foreman is around.
Posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
9 Responses to “Subject and Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns”
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I respectufully disagree with your use of the plural verb form when referring to “team or staff”. I recently heard a national TV reporter use a plural verb when refering to a married COUPLE–she used it twice. That prompted me to look into it as it is contrary to what I learned in public school (1937 to 1950.) I realize language evolves but I will continue to use the singular verb with all collective nouns and when I hear otherwise it will continue to grate on my nerves.
I understand why some words can grate on our nerves or ears when they differ from what we have learned and used over the years. Chicago Manual of Style advises, “A mass noun (sometimes called a noncount noun) is one that denotes something uncountable, either because it is abstract {cowardice} {evidence} or because it refers to an indeterminate aggregation of people or things {the faculty} {the bourgeoisie}; the latter type is also called a collective noun. As the subject of a sentence, a mass noun usually takes a singular verb {the litigation is varied}. But in a collective sense, it may take either a singular or a plural verb form {the ruling majority is unlikely to share power} {the majority are nonmembers}. A singular verb emphasizes the group; a plural verb emphasizes the individual members.”
As I mentioned in our blog on “Subject and Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns,” if the nouns are acting as a unit, use a singular verb, but if the sentence indicates more individuality, use a plural verb.
John
Language is more than a bag of rules. You can think of collectives in two ways – as a collective of parts or as parts of a collective. Both are utterly identical in ‘total’ meaning, and so the need for the other can seem quite superfulous at first. A bit like trying to decide which is best, driving on the left or on the right side of the road. It happens that in the UK, we tend to prefer plural nouns, while in the US I notice they prefer the singular more often than not.
John,
I have just read the sentence ” The couple is to honeymoon in Barbados” in one of our broadsheet newspapers and unlike you this sounded discordant to my ears. Having finished my Secondary education in 1966 I can only presume that there may have been different emphasis during the education process in America and Ireland. Incidentally when I queried a number of friends -mostly under 30 – I got an initial 60/40% tending towards using “are” in the above sentence.
I wonder if there is a definitive Legal interpretation of the verb to be used in this case ?
In my opinion, the word couple is acting as a single unit (especially since they are on their honeymoon)! I would, therefore, recommend the singular verb. I suppose that this is one of those sentences that is open to interpretation.
Hi,
So should the sentence read:
Option 1) 50% of X amount was paid out; or
Option 2) 50% of X amount were paid out?
Thanks.
Percentages are expressed in numerals except when they occur at the beginning of a sentence. Our blog “Subject and Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns” states,”Fractions and percentages, like team and staff, can be either singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition following. ” The subject of the sentence is fifty percent. The object of the preposition of is a monetary amount. Chicago Manual of Style says, “For measures or money or any other quantities, when the items form a whole that isn’t meant to be divided, use a singular verb.”
Fifty percent of $500 was paid out.
UK English makes no sense:
Our team meets on Tuesdays. The team work hard.
Our staff meet on Tuesdays. The staff work hard.
I think those would be likeliest.
My emphasis in the blog “Subject and Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns” is to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb depending on whether these nouns are acting as a unit or with individuality within the unit, regardless of any UK or American tendencies. The team and staff in your four sentences each appear to be acting as a unit. Therefore, the singular verbs meets and works should be used in each case.