Lingo Centre - Language Consultants

Files & Resources

The Economist - Style Guide - Singular or plural?

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

There is no firm rule about the number of a verb governed by a singular collective noun. It is best to go by the sense—that is, whether the collective noun stands for a single entity (The council was elected in March, The me generation has run its course, The staff is loyal) or for its constituents: (The council are at sixes and sevens, The preceding generation are all dead, The staff are at each other's throats). Do not, in any event, slavishly give all singular collective nouns singular verbs: The couple have a baby boy is preferable to The couple has a baby boy.Indeed, in general, treat both a pair and a couple as plural.

A rule for majority. When it is used in an abstract sense, it takes the singular; when it is used to denote the elements making up the majority, it should be plural. A two-thirds majority is needed to amend the constitution but A majority of the Senate were opposed.

A rule for number. The number is. . ., A number are. . .

OTHER NOUNS

A government, a party, a company (whether Tesco or Marks and Spencer) and a partnership (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) are all it and take a singular verb. So does a country, even if its name looks plural. Thus The Philippines has a congressional system, as does the United States; the Netherlands does not. The United Nations is also singular. So are acoustics, ballistics, dynamics, economics, kinetics, mathematics, mechanics, physics, politics and statics when being used generally, without the definite article. Thus Economics is the dismal science, Politics is the art of the possible (Bismarck), Statics is a branch of physics. But such -ics words are plural when preceded by the, or the plus an adjective, or with a possessive. The politics of Afghanistan have a logic all their own, The dynamics of the dynasty were dynamite, The economics of publishing are uncertain. Antics , atmospherics, basics, graphics, histrionics, hysterics, tactics and statistics are all plural. Specifics are discouraged (try details). Demographics should be demography.

Brokers are singular too. Legg Mason Wood Walk is preparing a statement. Avoid stockbrokers Furman Selz Mager, bankers Chase Manhattan or accountants Ernst & Young. And remember that Barclays is a British bank, not the British bank, just as Ford is a car company, not the car company, and Luciano Pavarotti is an opera singer, not the opera singer. If it seems absurd to describe someone or something thus—that is, with the indefinite article—you can probably dispense with the description altogether.

Propaganda looks plural but is not. Billiards, bowls, darts and fives are also singular. Data and media are plural. So are whereabouts. Teams that take the name of a town, country or university are plural, even when they look singular: England were bowled out for 56.

Law and order defies the rules of grammar and is singular.

Prefer the singular when referring to chemical (not chemicals) companies, drug (not drugs) traffickers, pension (not pensions) systems and so on. But arms-trader and sales force.

Remember that elections are not always plural. The opposition demanded an election is often preferable to The opposition demanded fresh elections.

Navigation