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Isn't that a bit like saying "the herd are" (being made up of a group of cows
etc)?! Surely Parliament is a collective noun for a group of MPs; Congress
a collective noun for a group of senators????
--Damien Braniff
No, it's *exactly* like it saying "the herd are", and the second sentence is
absolutely correct about collective nouns, also, but irrelevant. It is a
matter of emphasis. The distinction between a noun that refers to a body and a
noun that refers collectively to individuals is a nicety almost never observed
in the U.S. and routinely observed in the U.K. What you emphasize depends on
circumstance and perception.
A case in point: As Ken Burns said several times in his TV documentary on the
U.S Civil War, before the war people said "the United Stated are"; after the
war they said "the United States is". It's a distinction that is there if you
want it, and if an author wants to make it, we ought to take him at his word.
Sean Fitzpatrick
Technical Writer
Shared Medical Systems, Malvern PA
sean -dot- fitzpatrick -at- smed -dot- com
