Embedded Files
Common Mistakes
Common Mistakes
Manchester United is playing Real Madrid tonight.
Manchester United are playing Real Madrid tonight.
The police is investigating the case.
The police are investigating the case.
None of the books is worth reading.
None of the books are worth reading.
The staff is having a meeting at the moment.
The staff are having a meeting at the moment.
The gang is fighting each other.
The gang are fighting each other.
Correct Form
Correct Form
Most of the companies in the survey have an intranet.
England has a population of 54 million.
England are playing South Korea in the world cup semi-finals.
None of the films I saw were [was] any good.
None of the information was up to date.
The crew / team / staff / choir are all from Mexico.
Guidelines
Guidelines
When groups of people are viewed in an official manner as a single unit, then the noun is followed by a singular verb (China is hosting the World Cup), but when these people are seen as a group of individuals (e.g. a football team) then the noun is followed by a plural verb (China are playing Russia in the final).
Some nouns, such as crew, team, staff, gang, orchestra are generally (but not always) followed by a plural verb given that they are seen as individual people rather than as just one single unit.
Although none means not one, the verb tends to agree with the main noun (e.g. none of the artists, none of the speakers, none of the children) and is thus plural (e.g. none of the class speak English).
If a noun is used with a plural verb then logically the related pronoun will be plural too e.g. Barcelona are playing at home tonight, they should win.
Practice
Practice
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