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collective nouns



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
an English question (verb but can be changed into nouns by add -ing?) | position of preposition in question
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collective nouns #1 (permalink) Sun Jan 20, 2008 20:01 pm   collective nouns
 

choose the right verb:
in the latest trade union vote the majority has/have voted to go on strike.
Danahako
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collective nouns #2 (permalink) Sun Jan 20, 2008 23:21 pm   collective nouns
 

Hi,

Either will do. It depends whether you consider the majority as a single entity (has voted} or as a group of individual people (have voted).

Alan
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collective nouns #3 (permalink) Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:36 am   collective nouns
 

hey...
In the exercise i have to deside which answer fit most....
in Q like this where i have majority its accepted to see them as a single entity or individaul ppl?
thank you very much...
dana:)
Danahako
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collective nouns #4 (permalink) Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:04 am   collective nouns
 

.
Correct me if I am wrong, Alan, but doesn't BrE prefer singular where AmE usually uses singular? (Or is that just for sports teams?) In which case the origin of your test may determine your choice, danahako. As Alan says, both are right.

Another way to consider the choice is whether the group is doing the same thing as a group ('Our family is going to Europe this summer') or interacting within the group ('Our family are always arguing about where to vacation').

A third consideration is countability: 'A majority of my friends are gay'; 'A majority of the forest has been destroyed'.
.
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collective nouns #5 (permalink) Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:25 am   collective nouns
 

Hi,

I think here an insistence on it being singular is more likely with the 'It is I brigade'. By the way, Charles, your sentence: 'A majority of the forest has been destroyed' sounds strange to me but I can't honestly say why. I would go for 'a greater part'.

Alan
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collective nouns #6 (permalink) Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:00 pm   collective nouns
 

.
Yes, me too-- or 'a major part'.
.
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