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casmo
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FAMILY : SINGULAR OR PLURAL???
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WHAT DO YOU THINK??
FOR EXAMPLE: The Harrison family was having dinner at 8. It was eating spaghetti.
or
The Harrison family were having dinner at eight. They were eating spaghetti.
Some friends consider the second one , what do you think? |
27 Apr 2011
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MarionG
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I always considered family as singular so I would go for:
The Harrison family was....
But
The Harissons were..... |
27 Apr 2011
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pilarmham
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Actually, it can be both singular and plural depending on whether you consider it a group (i.e. a unit) or a set of individuals. In the first case it is singular, in the second one it is plural. I hope this helped! |
27 Apr 2011
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libertybelle
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It is only used for things. (sometime animals, but not pets)
It would be very rude to call a family "it"!
Family is a word for a unit of people - therefore you would always say "they".
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27 Apr 2011
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Purunchi
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I agree with Marrion
The family is singular but who were eating dinner where the persons.
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27 Apr 2011
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pilarmham
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It can refer both to the word family and to a family as well. Michael Swan, page 428: My family have decided to move to Nottingham (plural) The average family is a great deal smaller than it used to be (singular) This happens to other words which refer to groups of people, such as team, government, orchestra, jury, staff, etc. |
27 Apr 2011
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libertybelle
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This is the sentence that I didn �t agree with:
The Harrison family was having dinner at 8. It was eating spaghetti.
I would never say it was eating spaghetti.
The sentence also refers to a specific family - the Harrison family.
I have noticed that Americans and Brits use have and has differently.
Reading Harry Potter books are a good example of the different ways
has and have are used.
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27 Apr 2011
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Maria Isabel
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Check for �Collective Nouns:
That might help.
Regards
Maria Isabel
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27 Apr 2011
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yanogator
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Now that we have a variety of opinions, I �ll add mine.
I would use either "was" or "were" in the first of each pair of sentences, but definitely "they were" in the second.
The Harrison family was/were having dinner at 8. They were eating spaghetti.
Bruce |
27 Apr 2011
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AishaC
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The Harrison family was having dinner at 8. They were eating spaghetti. :))) |
27 Apr 2011
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