Government has/have

[michelle.siel]

The Government has announced its intention to undertake a process of reform.
The Government have announced their intention to undertake a process of reform.

Which is the correct one? To me the first seems right but I’m not sure.

Thanks in advance

[angelg]

The Government has announced the intention to undertake a process of reform....or
Teh goverment has announced its intentions to undertake a process of reform....
Either way "The goverment" is the third person of the singular so "has" must be used.
( I'm not an English teacher).

[Clark]

The Government has announced its intention to undertake a process of reform.
The Government have announced their intention to undertake a process of reform.

Which is the correct one? To me the first seems right but I’m not sure.

Thanks in advance

Collective nouns like 'government' combine with both a singular and a plural verb.
e.g. The government don't get along with one another. (government as a collection of individuals)
The government has passed a decision. ( government as a unified body)

In your sentence I think it's 'The government has announced its intention'.

[michelle.siel]

Thanks to both of you for the inputs. On the above sentences I also see the government as a single unit so the first sentence should be right.

On the other hand, on an official document, in fact in more than one, I’ve met the phrase ‘The Government have announced …’ and I was not sure if this was a mistake or an exception from the rule.
Any help would be appreciated.

[2006]

Thanks to both of you for the inputs. On the above sentences I also see the government as a single unit so the first sentence should be right.
Then just say 'The government has...'. When other people say the government have...', even though you may think that sounds odd, there is not much you can do about that. That's how language is.


On the other hand, on an official document, in fact in more than one, I’ve met the phrase ‘The Government have announced …’ and I was not sure if this was a mistake or an exception from the rule.
Any help would be appreciated.

2006

[RonBee]

"The government have" is British usage. It is possible to see either "The government has" or "The government have" in BE depending on whether the writer views the government as a collective body or a collection of individuals.