quote:

Originally posted by Barolo:

quote:

Originally posted by *Pesky-Pixie*:
The first one..there's only one team.

For 'are' to be used there should be more than one team??

I'm wrong, ain't I?

You're correct PP!

quote:

Originally posted by Tam:
well whit? its hung

quote:

Originally posted by CaptVimes:

Toddles off to find the ring

quote:

Originally posted by Tam:
hung intit? as in ah hung the basturt oot the windae

quote:

Originally posted by Flossie:
I have been instructed to start a lonely grammar thread, so I will periodically post to myself some grammar questions.


So to start,

Is it correct to say

The team is going to win

or

The team are going to win ?

quote:

Originally posted by Flossie:
Ok

The answer is for British English.........











You are all right


It is in fact optional. Team seems to be a special case where each use is valid.

In other cases where the noun is acting as one unit it is singular, but if the unit consists of lots of people acting individually then it is plural

e.g.

• The committee has announced its decision. (The committee is regarded as an impersonal unit.)
  
  
• The committee are divided on this issue. (The committee is regarded as a group of individuals.)
  
  
• The average Indian family has 4.2 members. It is small and richer than 20 years ago.
  
  
• My family have decided to move to Mumbai.
  

So for instance in the last example all members of the family are deemed to have acted individually even though the collective noun is singular.

quote:

Originally posted by Supercalifragilistic:
I've just looked at that website:Starting sentences with And

This is your website. Please feel free to use it in any way you wish to learn or teach English. And please let us know what you think about this site and what you would like to see added.

Surely that third sentence shouldn't have started with And????

quote:

Originally posted by Blizzie:


Surely that third sentence shouldn't have started with And????

quote:

Originally posted by Supercalifragilistic:

quote:

Originally posted by Blizzie:

quote:

Surely that third sentence shouldn't have started with And????

I think it's acceptable nowadays.

And why not?

'Cos it's not necessary and it's not what I got bloody taught at school and I get all

quote:

Originally posted by Blizzie:
Have you considered inserting members?

quote:

Originally posted by Flossie:

quote:

Originally posted by Blizzie:
Have you considered inserting members?

I don't think it quite works.

One can say "the team are going to win" but it still wouldn't be quite right to say "the team members are going to win" unless each member of the team played in a game of separate matches.

But a good try

quote:

Originally posted by jennywren:

quote:

Originally posted by Flossie:
I have been instructed to start a lonely grammar thread, so I will periodically post to myself some grammar questions.


So to start,

Is it correct to say

The team is going to win

or

The team are going to win ?

The team IS going to win, because the team is singular. Only one team. (Lots of people in the team, though, but still singular.)

quote:

Originally posted by Flossie:
I have been instructed to start a lonely grammar thread, so I will periodically post to myself some grammar questions.


So to start,

Is it correct to say

The team is going to win

or

The team are going to win ?

quote:

Originally posted by Supercalifragilistic:
Looking for new recruits
The Society Opposed to the Misuse of 'Of'

quote:

Originally posted by Suzi-Q:
Can you next address the correct usage of there, they're and their? Also your and you're. My personal pet peeves.

Thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by pussycatj:
And what about starting a sentance with 'And'? I quite like it

quote:

"You must not start a sentence with a conjunction" has been the mantra of many an exasperated English teacher, especially since the oiks started getting state education. Any pupil brave, daft or naive enough to raise a hand and ask "Why?" would probably have received some Kafkaesque explanation along the lines of "Because it is said."

So now we're all grown up, we'll ask again – why? The honest answer is that there is no reason. It's just an arbitrary rule that's been passed through the ages. But all language is arbitrary, isn't it? Words and letters are but abstract concepts, the understanding of which can only come through the education of rules.

As usual with these issues, the argument is between the way English is used and the way it is "supposed to be". Sometimes a full stop is required to drive home a sentence or give a meaningful pause. And an afterthought like this one gets more impact when it's a sentence rather than a conjoined clause. So when someone tells you not to start a sentence with a conjunction, say: "But I've already done it."

quote:

Originally posted by tupps:
I've always liked this little snippet when discussing the rights and wrongs of starting a sentence with a conjunction.

quote:

"You must not start a sentence with a conjunction" has been the mantra of many an exasperated English teacher, especially since the oiks started getting state education. Any pupil brave, daft or naive enough to raise a hand and ask "Why?" would probably have received some Kafkaesque explanation along the lines of "Because it is said."

So now we're all grown up, we'll ask again – why? The honest answer is that there is no reason. It's just an arbitrary rule that's been passed through the ages. But all language is arbitrary, isn't it? Words and letters are but abstract concepts, the understanding of which can only come through the education of rules.

As usual with these issues, the argument is between the way English is used and the way it is "supposed to be". Sometimes a full stop is required to drive home a sentence or give a meaningful pause. And an afterthought like this one gets more impact when it's a sentence rather than a conjoined clause. So when someone tells you not to start a sentence with a conjunction, say: "But I've already done it."

quote:

Originally posted by Hotpants Helen:

quote:

Originally posted by Supercalifragilistic:
Looking for new recruits
The Society Opposed to the Misuse of 'Of'

According to one member of this forum the use of of instead of have is purely a matter of opinion.