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Pastimes : SI Grammar and Spelling Lab -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jack Clarke who wrote (3377)	11/3/1999 7:56:00 PM
From: E	Respond to of 4711

Yes, the Brits might say, "The government are," using a collective noun as a plural where we use it as a singular. I do not think, though, that they would say, "The British people is supportive of the Queen," which would be the reverse-- using the collective noun as a singular where we use it as a plural. Perhaps jbe can clarify this. In any case, I do like the literary effect of "The people, Sir, is a great beast," as the verb does emphasize his metaphor, which converts the mass of individual citizens into one great beast. This is of course, an academic discussion, GWB being neither ancient nor British.

To: Jack Clarke who wrote (3377)	11/6/1999 1:28:00 PM
From: jbe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4711

<<The American people is supportive of me.>> I hate to side with a nitwit, but I see nothing wrong with the above sentence. Thanks for the compliment, Jack, but in this case I felt the need to pick the truly "encyclopedic" brain(s) of Fowler/Gowers ("Usage," 2nd Edition). They distinguish 7 different kinds of collective nouns, "people" falling into the category of "nouns of multitude." Basically, the 2nd Edition's position is that there is no set rule: it all depends on context. For example: The Cabinet is divided is better, because in the order of thought a whole must precede division; and The Cabinet are agreed is better, because it takes two or more to agree. Bush's point is that the American people, as a whole, supports him. I can only hope he is wrong! Joan