Farin Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 interesting... well... languages aren't (isn't?) my strongest point anyway...
blind-fitter Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 (Dusts off palms) I guess that's the issue settled then, is it?
Tenacious_Peaches Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 I'm genuinely fascinated by this discussion. I like for things to be definitive, but I don't think we have a concrete answer yet. Please continue...(where's the popcorn smiley?)
Sweet Jane 61 Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 Where is Steel2Velvet, he is the master with words.
Levis Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 So The Stones is touring... I already SAID that if the band's name is plural like the Beatles or the Stones, then each member is a constituent Beatle or Stone, so you use plural there.
Farin Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 ^ in that case I, myself, would really rather use "Kula Shaker IS touring" than "Kula Shaker ARE touring"... at least I think so
Tenacious_Peaches Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 Where's das? He's the biggest nerd I know.
The Seeker Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 But if you use bands in a different context, say... "They just released a new album", you always use plural.
The Seeker Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 No, wait... not sure if that works... bands aren't male or female...
Levis Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 OK, so Kula Shaker is not touring in India... That's right (and rub it in, why don't you?) Anyway, I turned to Google, from where I turned to Wikipedia to ease my troubled mind. Formal and notional agreement In BrE, collective nouns can take either singular (formal agreement) or plural (notional agreement) verb forms, according to whether the emphasis is, respectively, on the body as a whole or on the individual members; compare a committee was appointed ... with the committee were unable to agree ...[5][6] Compare also Elvis Costello's song, Oliver's Army is here to stay / Oliver's Army are on their way. Some of these nouns, for example staff,[7] actually combine with plural verbs most of the time. In AmE, collective nouns are usually singular in construction: the committee was unable to agree ... AmE however may use plural pronouns in agreement with collective nouns: the team take their seats, rather than the team takes its seat(s). The rule of thumb is that a group acting as a unit is considered singular and a group of "individuals acting separately" is considered plural.[8] However, such a sentence would most likely be recast as the team members take their seats. The difference occurs for all nouns of multitude, both general terms such as team and company and proper nouns (for example, where a place name is used to refer to a sports team). For instance, BrE: The Clash are a well-known band; AmE: The Clash is a well known band. BrE: Indianapolis are the champions; AmE: Indianapolis is the champion. Proper nouns which are plural in form take a plural verb in both AmE and BrE; for example, The Beatles are a well-known band; The Colts are the champions. BrE = British English AmE = American English Just you wait, B-F!
Levis Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 No, wait... not sure if that works... bands aren't male or female... It?
The Seeker Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 But you don't say "It released a new album." Do you?
Farin Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 But you don't say "It released a new album." Do you? maybe there is a band called "It"?
bazooka Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 Songfactors be goofy. EB = Ebonics eb eb eb = that sound Shemp makes.
blind-fitter Posted June 29, 2007 Report Posted June 29, 2007 BrE: The Clash are a well-known band; AmE: The Clash is a well known band. BrE: Indianapolis are the champions; AmE: Indianapolis is the champion. Proper nouns which are plural in form take a plural verb in both AmE and BrE; for example, The Beatles are a well-known band; The Colts are the champions. BrE = British English AmE = American English Just you wait, B-F!
Tenacious_Peaches Posted July 2, 2007 Report Posted July 2, 2007 The misheard lyric, "Hold me closer, Tony Danza," makes me giggle every time I think of it.
Sweet Jane 61 Posted July 2, 2007 Report Posted July 2, 2007 Remember Phoebe on "Friends" singing it that way! Classic!
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