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can you say "are " to describe a team?
One day I said "Barcelona are winning the league" My friends said that's not correct. They told me "Barcelona is winning the league" is correct. I accepted but one time I played FIFA, I heard the commentator say" Manchester United are a team with pedigree". I noted my friends, they said that's wrong. I accepted again. Then I watched Germany vs Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World cup. I heard the commentator say" Joachim Low said in a press conference that Ghana are a difficult team to beat" . I'm really confused, should I use 'are' or 'is' to describe a team.
4 Answers
- Anonymous7 years ago
We would say, "Manchester United ARE a good team and THEY will win THEIR next match."
We simply wouldn't say, "Manchester United is a good team and IT will win ITS next match."
It might be correct, but it just doesn't sound right.
Source(s): Native English Speaker - Anonymous7 years ago
It depends on where you are.
US usage treats collectives such as "team" as singular always.
UK usage is to treat collectives as singular or plural, depending on context - though leaning toward plural.
Wikipedia has an article on it: Comparison of American and British English / Formal and notional agreement - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_America...
Source(s): Native UK English speaker, technical writer - Diane ALv 77 years ago
Plural uses "are" singular uses "is". The teams ARE good, the team IS good. The above are singular. Commentators are not necessarily known for correct grammar.
- Anonymous7 years ago
There are two different sentences and your friend was right.