Now, how can we better determine when to use a plural verb with our collective subversives and when to use a singular verb? To complete the sentence above, I am considering employing a lawyer rather than lawyers. I am here in loss because I cannot say whether the subject should be singular or plural, because there is no other indication of the form of the name in the sentence. John, I just read the phrase “The couple is a honeymoon in Barbados” in one of our Broadsheet newspapers, and unlike you, it seems to me to disagree. After completing my secondary education in 1966, I can only assume that there may have been different priorities during the education process in America and Ireland. Besides, when I asked a number of friends – usually below 30 – I got an initial 60/40% tendency to use “are” in the sentence above. I wonder if there is a definitive legal interpretation of the verb to be used in this case? Do you use a singular or plural verb to match a collective noun like team or staff? The answer is that it depends. If these names act as a unit, use a singular verb. But there are a few cases where a singular collective noun actually expresses a plural idea and requires a plural verb. The following guidelines will help you decide whether a single collective noun takes a singular or a plural verb. The correct phrase is that nearly one in four people in the world is Muslim. The subject of the sentence is one that is singular and adopts a singular verb. The rule you write about only applies to collective nouns. The word one is not a collective noun, it is a unique name.

In the sentence A family of ducks rested on the grass, the object of the sentence is the family, a collective name. In this case, the author may decide to use a singular or plural verb depending on whether he considers the “family” as a unit or as a unique being within that unity. I also find the use of the plural form with collective subtantes problematic. One of the examples cited (the team was satisfied with its presentations) raises the question of the use of “sound” as a preposition pronoun. If “the team” is considered a singular, then the correct pronoun would be to give “he” “The team was happy with its presentations.” This seems to me to be quite acceptable, even if the prepositional name “presentations” is plural. This appears to run counter to the alleged principle that the case is based on plurality or not on prepositional-Nov. The fractions and percentages can be singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition. As workforce is in this particular sentence a singular noun with plural connotations such as the jury, the company, the orchestra, the community, etc. the author can use either a singular or a plural verb. (In addition, our rule 1 of number writing says: “Spell out all the numbers starting a sentence.”) In our rule 13 of the subject and verb agreement, it says: “Use a single verb with sums of money or periods.” Examples: $10 is a high price to pay. Five years is the maximum penalty for this offence. Percentages are expressed in numbers, unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence.