jim

[ImaginaryMotors]

Just to settle an argument, which is correct when referring to possessives of a group; singular or plural? ex; The corporation has their image to consider, or, the corporation has it's image to consider.
I have encountered both from college students and the singular seems to be correct, as the noun is a singularity. They argue that the noun is made of multiple units, and therefore plural.

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by ImaginaryMotors

Just to settle an argument, which is correct when referring to possessives of a group; singular or plural? ex; The corporation has their image to consider, or, the corporation has its image to consider.
I have encountered both from college students and the singular seems to be correct, as the noun is a singularity. They argue that the noun is made of multiple units, and therefore plural.

A good discussion point. It comes down to whether you regard the group as a single entity or as a multiple.

In the case of a corporation and its image, I think there is no argument - it has to be singular since the corporation in this case is a single entity with one image.

The group noun that causes more discussion is team: The team is doing well this season = the unified group; The team are doing well this season = the members of the team are all contributing to the collective team's success.