collective nouns

[danahako]

choose the right verb:
in the latest trade union vote the majority has/have voted to go on strike.

[Alan]

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
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Start or begin?

[danahako]

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:)

[Mister Micawber]

.
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'.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Alan]

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
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story A spring in your step

[Mister Micawber]

.
Yes, me too-- or 'a major part'.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber