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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Please... Help...
Please... Help...
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Gia Mel
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Please... Help...
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Hi! I came across this sentence, I don īt know if it is OK. Some colleagues have told me that īs ok, but it īs sound strange to me...
Manchester United are on TV tonight.
If it is right ... Would you tell me why? I still think it īs wrong!
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21 Aug 2010
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franknbea
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Hi Gia,
Yes, the phrase is correct.
But I īd prefer if Chelsea were on TV tonight instead. |
21 Aug 2010
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lshorton99
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We use the expression ībe on TV ī when we īre talking about sombody/thing making an appearance on TV. It īs completely normal and natural in English, I promise!
Frank - Chelsea? Really? Give me Spurs any day of the week!
Lindsey
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21 Aug 2010
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libertybelle
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I think that Manchester United is ONE team with many members.
Therefore I would say: Manchester United is on TV tonight. (Manchester U, the team, is on tonight)
If there were many Manchester U teams - then I īd write "are".
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21 Aug 2010
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valentinaper
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I think that words such as team, group, class etc. can be used in the singular, if we cosider them to be a whole, and in the plural, if we are talking about each member individually. Hope my exlpanation isn īt confusing! Cheers! |
21 Aug 2010
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mariaelaine
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I tend to agree with libertybelle. |
21 Aug 2010
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lshorton99
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valentinaper - you are spot on and your explanation is not at all confusing!
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21 Aug 2010
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andreaewa
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a team is a collective noun so you can use it as a singular or a plural. The same happens with the word family.In British English, it is generally accepted that collective nouns can take either singular or plural verb forms depending on the context and the metonymic shift that it implies. In American English, collective nouns usually take singular verb forms (formal agreement), but either a singular or plural verb is correct American usage where the noun is understood as a group of individual components. (wikipedia) |
21 Aug 2010
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franknbea
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Even though the point about teams being referred to in the singular, in the case of some sports they are referred to in the plural.
Manchester United are on TV tonight is correct in this sense. As would be The New York Yankees are on TV tonight or the LA Lakers are on TV tonight or even Arsenal which is singular is said "Arsenal are on TV tonight" or as any Londoner would say "The arsenal are on the telly later."
Lindsey, please notice I deliberately avoided that īteam ī you mentioned  Gia, I hope this is not too confusing, again we have a case of common usage (sorry Lindsey, keep stealing your phrase) versus correct usage.
Sorry to labour the point but here is a snip of todayīs football coverage on the BBC website;
"Spurs are surely going to struggle with that line-up? Should be the game of the day. Hats off to them if they win it."
Almost every reference to a football team will be presented as are rather than is. |
21 Aug 2010
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kaz76
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I was just about to the same thing as franknbea about how teams are referred to in the media. Commentators on TV and journalists always use are when talking about teams - Rangers are playing at home today (never Rangers is playing at home). |
21 Aug 2010
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lshorton99
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Frank - I think you īll find my beloved Spurs did just fine today!
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21 Aug 2010
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