Any difference?

[Taka]

No wonder your English is so good! The students are lucky to have you. :wink:

Thank you, Mike! And I have to tell you that I am so lucky to find this "UsingEnglish.com", learning English under the great teachers here.

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To Susie and tdol.

Thank you for the valuable information!

[MikeNewYork]

[quote="Taka"]

No wonder your English is so good! The students are lucky to have you. :wink:

Thank you, Mike! And I have to tell you that I am so lucky to find this "UsingEnglish.com", learning English under the great teachers here.

-------
To Susie and tdol.

Thank you for the valuable information!

:D

[Susie Smith]

In British English, there is a creeping tendency towards the plural in cases such as this. Teams, universities, etc, are routinely labelled plural. It seems to be an area where there is difference between the US and the UK. In BE, the sentence would be generally viewed as acceptable, though some would say the same as Susie.

Many also use singular for the plural (There's three...), just to make things harder.

Many things are acceptable in informal speech. People start saying something and others imitate them and suddenly it's widespread and acceptable and eventually even considered grammatically correct. When I went to school I was taught how to use may/can and shall/will, etc. We all know what happened to those rules - the same thing that is happening to the present perfect. How many people do you know who say, "He don't ........."? Just wait ... we may live to hear grammarians say this is "acceptable in informal speech" .

Back to university, team, class, etc. -
Collective nouns are singular when a group is considered a unit, but plural when the individuals are indicated.
The team built its reputation on honesty.
The team are taking their baths.

Expressions of time, money, and distance usually require a singular verb.
Five hours of sleep is enough for me.
Ten dollars is too much to pay.
Five thousand miles is too far to drive.

There's also that wise saying: "Three's a crowd", and it is a very wise one indeed. :wink:

[Taka]

Susie, allow me to ask one thing.

Is English your first language? Or, did you master your English by strict training?

[Tdol]

The casual use of the plural has become acceptable in much formal language here. The use of the singular for the plural is still definitely informal.

[Susie Smith]

Susie, allow me to ask one thing.

Is English your first language? Or, did you master your English by strict training?

First of all, you're welcome. I'm glad to have been of some help to you. :D Second, I'm American. Third, I haven't mastered anything, much less English. :) English was my favorite subject at school and I've always enjoyed studying grammar. I'm still learning and that's one of the reasons I enjoy following this forum. I think we all have a lot to learn from each other.

[Susie Smith]

Susie, allow me to ask one thing.

Is English your first language? Or, did you master your English by strict training?

First of all, you're welcome. I'm glad to have been of some help to you. :D Second, I'm American. Third, I haven't mastered anything, much less English. :) English was my favorite subject at school and I've always enjoyed studying grammar. I'm still learning and that's one of the reasons I enjoy following this forum. I think we all have a lot to learn from each other.