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ESL forum >
Ask for help > Help on grammar
Help on grammar
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shifaniya
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Help on grammar
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What is the correct verb form
Cricket commentators say " India are playing nicely today"
Often on TV screen "England need 50 runs to win"
"India win the match by 5 wickets"
I feel the above sentences shoud read as follows
"India is playing nicely today"
"England needs 50 runs to win"
"India wins the match by 5 wickets"
Am I wrong? Explain to me.
Thanks in advance
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28 Jun 2012
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bonnyscotland
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India, England... are considered as collective words, so, it means "the players of the Indian team", it represents several people, so it is plural. |
28 Jun 2012
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elisestaves
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Hello to a fellow cricket fan!
I tend to find that British English uses a team name with a plural verb form whilst American and, if I remember correctly, Australian English uses a team name with a singular (3rd person) verb form.
So it depends whose commentary you are listening to!
Elise |
28 Jun 2012
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douglas
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I agree with Shifaniya on this one--I would never use the plural with a single country name even if I am talking about a team. (There is probably a rule that allows it though.)
Edit: after a little research it seems that using exclusively the singular with collective nouns is an American English tendency. |
29 Jun 2012
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cunliffe
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I like to go plural on this one. |
29 Jun 2012
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koala_eukaliptus
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Spain referred as a group or team should be plural.
Spain are doing really well at the Eurocup.
However, if you talk about the country itself (territory) you should go singular.
Spain is a land of contrasts. |
29 Jun 2012
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