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US news organizations say the FBI or Scotland Yard is investigating, but BBC always says Scotland Yard or the FBI are investigating.
Is this a difference between BBC and US news organizations, or a difference between the British and the American language? I note that wee used to rrefer to the USA as "these united states" and now say "the united states"
I notice a greater tendency to use the plural verb with collectives in British English. But we certainly do the same in American English.
His family were enormously wealthy ... . (The Great Gatsby)
For some of this tension within American English, consider collective sports teams whose names don't end with s.
Hockey: Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, and Minnesota Wild.
Basketball: Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Utah Jazz.
The Jazz are in a weird place (ESPN The Jazz are ...
... the Jazz is vulnerable to fast break attacks (ESPN The Jazz is ...
" ... the team are at their homes ... " (As an American, in this usage, I almost hear it as an ellipsis of "the [individual members of the] team")
"...the team is at home ... "
So I see the choice of singular or plural at once a regional question, a stylistic one, and a semantic one.
Glenn said
" ... the team are at their homes ... " (As an American, in this usage, I almost hear it as an ellipsis of "the [individual members of the] team")
"...the team is at home ... "So I see the choice of singular or plural at once a regional question, a stylistic one, and a semantic one.
If one showed up at EnergySolutions Arena to take photos of the Jazz, it's quite conceivable that one might be told, "yes, the team is home after playing the XYZ, but you'll have to come back tomorrow, for today is an "off" day, and the Jazz are at home.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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