I can't believe I never knew this until just now.

[prillalar]

I always thought the singular vs plural status of collective nouns was one of those NA vs UK things. But then I found this.

This is from a style guide on a Canadian government site, so it's possible it only applies to Canada. But I'm in Canada, so that's fine.

Collective nouns such as board, cabinet, commission, committee, council, government, group, majority, number, and series take their verb or pronoun in either the singular or plural, depending upon the context in which they are used. Use the plural when the action is taken by the individual members considered in their separate capacities, and use the singular when the group acts or thinks as a whole:

The committee have discussed all aspects of the case and have not yet reached agreement.

The committee approved the motion unanimously and directed its subcommittee to take immediate action.

Is it different where you live?

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_riz/]

Helloooo. This is randomly late, but I'm always hopelessly hooked by grammar talk, so... >_> I'm a copy editor and get asked this all the time, and like your example says, it varies so I can never really give a straight answer! But the rule is generally that if you're emphasizing individuals, if there's a difference in what they're doing, then it's plural, but if the action is unanimous, it's singular. So "the committee decides to accept the suggestion" but "the orchestra are staying at several hotels in the city." Er, and I'm American, and not familiar with the rule in UK standards.