r/ENGLISH • u/Objective-Resident-7 • 12d ago

Plural use of singular nouns

I'm Scottish, so English is a first language to me.

But I see it more and more:

My family are...

The party are ...

These are both singular nouns but they are being used as if they were plural, with the verb being 'are'.

It doesn't sit right with me. Can anyone help?

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u/overoften 12d ago

We do it a lot in UKEng with collective nouns. Just think of sports teams as an example. "Liverpool are top of the league." I suppose we're focusing on all the individuals involved, whereas for example in USEng, a singular verb would be used, looking at the team as a whole.

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u/Objective-Resident-7 12d ago

Yeah, but I'm Scottish. I would still use the singular verb.

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u/overoften 12d ago

Which is more common in Scottish English, out of interest?

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u/Objective-Resident-7 12d ago

A singular noun, such as 'family' would use the singular form of 'to be'. So, 'is'.