Agreement with a Collective Noun: Understanding Subject-Verb Agreement in Complex Sentences
As a copy editor, it is important to understand the ins and outs of grammar and syntax in order to produce high-quality content that is not only grammatically correct but also optimized for search engine optimization (SEO). One of the key elements of ensuring grammatical accuracy is understanding the concept of agreement with collective nouns.
Collective nouns are words that refer to a group of people, animals, or objects that are regarded as a single entity. Common examples of collective nouns include words like “team,” “council,” “group,” and “class.” When using collective nouns in a sentence, it is important to ensure that there is agreement between the subject and the verb.
For example, consider the sentence “The team is playing well.” In this sentence, “team” is the subject, and “is playing” is the verb. Because “team” refers to a group of people that is regarded as a single entity, the verb “is playing” agrees with the singular form of the collective noun.
However, when using collective nouns in more complex sentences, it can be easy to make agreement errors. For example, consider the sentence “The group of students are taking their final exams.” In this sentence, “group” is the collective noun, but it is modified by the prepositional phrase “of students.”
As a result, it can be tempting to use a plural verb like “are taking.” However, because the collective noun “group” is singular, the correct verb to use in this sentence is “is taking.” The phrase “of students” does not affect the agreement between the subject and the verb.
Another common error that can occur with collective nouns is when the noun is used in a possessive sense. In this case, it is important to remember that the possessive pronoun that follows the collective noun should reflect the singular or plural form of the noun, not the individual members of the group.
For example, consider the sentence “The team won its first game of the season.” In this sentence, the collective noun “team” is singular, and the possessive pronoun “its” reflects this agreement. Similarly, in the sentence “The council submitted its report,” the singular collective noun “council” matches the use of the singular possessive pronoun “its.”
In summary, agreement with collective nouns is an important element of grammatical accuracy in writing and editing. When using collective nouns in sentences, it is crucial to ensure that the subject and verb agree in number, regardless of any modifiers or possessive pronouns that may be present. By keeping these guidelines in mind, copy editors can produce clear, grammatically correct content that is optimized for SEO.