can you say "are " to describe a team?

Question

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.

Answer 1

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

Answer 2

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

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

There are two different sentences and your friend was right.