Grammar 911 Calling the Grammar Police!!!!!

Is or Are?

  • IS

    Votes: 15 75.0%

  • ARE

    Votes: 5 25.0%
  • Total voters
    20
poadeleted21

poadeleted21

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Aug 18, 2011
Messages
12,332
Wikipedia is making me mad. I'm from backwoods Mississippi so my grammar aint all that good.

But, before I go on a rant. What's correct here?

On pages for bands, sports teams, etc... they use "are" instead of "is".

For instance, from the U2 page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U2
wikipedia said:
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin.
Click to expand...

And The OKC Thunder B-Ball team:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder

wikipedia said:
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Click to expand...

This one especially drives me nuts, because they use the singular "franchise" but still use "are" instead of "is".

Which are it? "is" or "are"
 
The band and the team are made up of individuals, so the proper word is "are".

The band and the team are individual enteties, so the proper word is "is".

How is that for an answer. Having said that, "are" just sounds wrong.
 
I was taught that it should be 'is.' Now which side of the quotation mark does the period go? ;)

U2 is a popular band.
The guys in U2 are musicians.
 
Last edited:
The Pittsburgh Pirates ARRRRRR an American professional baseball franchise.
 
bartmc said:
Wikipedia is making me mad. I'm from backwoods Mississippi so my grammar aint all that good.

But, before I go on a rant. What's correct here?

On pages for bands, sports teams, etc... they use "are" instead of "is".

For instance, from the U2 page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U2


And The OKC Thunder B-Ball team:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder



This one especially drives me nuts, because they use the singular "franchise" but still use "are" instead of "is".

Which are it? "is" or "are"
Click to expand...

It depends. If the reference is to the unit as an entity, then "is" would be correct. If it refers to the component members of the entity, then "are" would be correct.

In both the references cited, "is" would actually be more correct because the references are to the entities, not the members who may constitute them at any given moment of time. This would be more true in the Thunder instance than the U2 instance because an athletic team has more turnover; but in either case, the reference is to the corporate entity, as it were.

However, in a news article about an upcoming performance by U2 or this week's Thunder game, "are" would be correct because the article would be about the individuals who happen to belong to the respective groups at this point in time.

Rich
 
As written, 'is' certainly seems more correct because both are referred to as a single entity e.g. a band and a franchise.
 
Drives me crazy when British sports announcers use are/is differently than we do. They pluralize things we don't.

Us: Indianapolis was beaten by Philadelphia.
Them: Indianapolis were beaten by Philadelphia.
Me: Colts lost again.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
The band and the team are made up of individuals, so the proper word is "are".

The band and the team are individual enteties, so the proper word is "is".

How is that for an answer. Having said that, "are" just sounds wrong.
Click to expand...

This.^ I live in backwoods MS too :D
 
Matthew said:
Drives me crazy when British sports announcers use are/is differently than we do. They pluralize things we don't.

Us: Indianapolis was beaten by Philadelphia.
Them: Indianapolis were beaten by Philadelphia.
Me: Colts lost again.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my understanding is that in Britain, "are" is considered correct for entities that are made up of a group of people.
 
Palmpilot said:
Yeah, my understanding is that in Britain, "are" is considered correct for entities that are made up of a group of people.
Click to expand...

So, some Brit has been going thru Wikipedia editing all the articles, eh?

That are pretty pretentious.
 
"Is" is usually the right answer for me.

The one place where "are" seems wrong but I know it isn't is when saying "The media are ..."
 
Palmpilot said:
Yeah, my understanding is that in Britain, "are" is considered correct for entities that are made up of a group of people.
Click to expand...

Them: The team are going out for a pint after the match.
Us: The team is going out for beers after the game.
 
MickYoumans said:
I was taught that it should be 'is.' Now which side of the quotation mark does the period go? ;)

A. U2 is a popular band.
B. The guys in U2 are musicians.
Click to expand...
A is correct.
B is a matter of opinion! :D
 
In the US, typically the team is treated as singular.
In the UK, typically the team is treated as a collective noun (i.e., plural).

I work with a few brits, it's one of things that stands out...example:

Manchester are two goals down.
England trail by 215 after six wickets.
 
Crap, I hit the wrong button, it should be is for both, not are.
 
Well, as Churchill pointed out, Britain and America are separated by a common language.
Even being the child of an english teacher school marm, I tend not to be a grammar nazi and cheerfully sail over top of the rubble that was the english language, as published/uttered in the world of today.
However, we all have our hot buttons.
Mine is "pleaded" guilty, as the past tense of plea.
As in the talking TV head dutifully rattling off " . . . pleaded not guilty . . . "
Being that the plea referred to is in the past tense, I answer to the TV, "it is pled thank you" (which annoys my wife to no end - and the OED, to my chagrin).
Pleaded jars my ear.
OTOH, in the world of 140 character texting, much of what I learned, long ago and in a world far away, is passing (sigh)
 
Pleaded guilty.

I never have understood that one either.

Nor do I get pluralizing the first word of two word titles. Like "Attornies General." I even heard a sportscaster once say "the picher's has 100 strikes out this season."
 
timwinters said:
Pleaded guilty.

I never have understood that one either.

Nor do I get pluralizing the first word of two word titles. Like "Attornies General."
Click to expand...

That's because "General" actually is an adjective limiting and modifying "Attorney." Which attorney? The Attorney General. More than one Attorney General are therefore referred to as "Attorneys General," not "Attorney Generals." "Attorney" is the noun. "General" is a modifier.

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
That's because "General" actually is an adjective limiting and modifying "Attorney." Which attorney? The Attorney General. More than one Attorney General are therefore referred to as "Attorneys General," not "Attorney Generals." "Attorney" is the noun. "General" is a modifier.

Rich
Click to expand...

True, and that's obviously the reason but it still doesn't ring true to the ear. "Attorney General" is also a proper noun is it not? It's a title. "Chris Koster is the Attorney General of Missouri."

And, yeah, "attorneys" and not "attornies." I didn't think that looked right this morning but I hadn't had my first cup of coffe yet and the ipad didn't complain.

BTW...since it's "Attorneys General" then is it proper to say (or type) "the attorney's general office" or is it "the attorney general's office"? I presume the former but that sounds goofier yet.
 
Dr. O said:
...However, we all have our hot buttons.
Mine is "pleaded" guilty, as the past tense of plea.
As in the talking TV head dutifully rattling off " . . . pleaded not guilty . . . "
Being that the plea referred to is in the past tense, I answer to the TV, "it is pled thank you" (which annoys my wife to no end - and the OED, to my chagrin).
Pleaded jars my ear...
Click to expand...

"Plea" is a noun. It doesn't have a past tense.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plea

The verb is "plead." According to Merriam-Webster, both "pleaded" and "pled" are correct as the past tense.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plead

One of my hot buttons is that "led," not "lead," is the past tense of "lead."

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead

On the other hand, "read" is the past tense of "read." (No one ever said English was easy!)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read
 
bartmc said:
Wikipedia is making me mad. I'm from backwoods Mississippi so my grammar aint all that good.

But, before I go on a rant. What's correct here?

On pages for bands, sports teams, etc... they use "are" instead of "is".

For instance, from the U2 page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U2


And The OKC Thunder B-Ball team:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder



This one especially drives me nuts, because they use the singular "franchise" but still use "are" instead of "is".

Which are it? "is" or "are"
Click to expand...

This rule depends on what country you are in. In the U.S. a group is singular. "Congress is in session." In England, it's plural. "Parliament are in session."

The correct answer is, "not enough information."
 
RJM62 said:
That's because "General" actually is an adjective limiting and modifying "Attorney." Which attorney? The Attorney General. More than one Attorney General are therefore referred to as "Attorneys General," not "Attorney Generals." "Attorney" is the noun. "General" is a modifier.

Rich
Click to expand...

But you could easily reverse it as well. What type of General is Eric Holder? He's an attorney general, making general the noun and attorney the adjective.

This usage is born out by some other practices. For example, when arguing before the Supreme Court the Solicitor General is referred to as "General Verrilli"
 
You'll notice that most sports team already have and "s" at the end of thr name, e.g. Colorado Rockies, LA Dodgers, Boston Celtics, Houstin Texans, etc. Which by observation implies a plurality, but references are to the individual team as an entity. On the other hand, you never hear anyone say "the Rockies has lost another game", it's "the Rockies have lost ....." or "the Rockies are..."

When in doubt, Strunk & White. Or whatever doesn't sound as silly.
 
I notice the poll is mostly represented by ISIS. That, is scary.
 
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