Team - singular or plural?

[Pauly_B]

Please could you clarify for me an odd point of grammar?

I have a sentence that reads
"Our team of experts offers a unique blend of…"
and I am sure that this is correct (One team (singular) offerS something).

However, I am being asked to change it to
"Our team of experts offer a unique blend of…" (no s on offer).
I am sure this is wrong but no-one will believe me.
Surely this follows the same rules that apply to any nouns,

eg "The dog barks", but "The dogs bark" is no different to
"The team offers" but "The teams offer".
It seems to me that the confusion arises because the last noun you see (experts) before the verb (to offer) is plural. But surely this does not mean that the verb has to conjugate with "experts" but rather with "a team", therefore it should be "offers"?

Perhaps you could confirm this for me?
I am often asked to "correct" my correct grammar by people who cannot write correctly themselves and I am passionate about preserving the integrity of my mother tongue. However, I need to make sure I'm right before making a stand!
Thanks.

 

[Soup]

I believe team is singular in American English, plural in British English.

 

[hotmetal]

Hi Soup.

Thanks for the quick reply. I had to register in order to post a thank-you!

I must admit I am surprised at the answer! So just to confirm that I've understood:

"Our team of experts offer a unique blend of…" is right in British English
and
"Our team of experts offers a unique blend of…" would be American?

I see there are other threads that seem to confirm this view, but it's not something I've seen before.

Thanks.

Pauly_B aka Hotmetal

 

[Anglika]

Hi Soup.

Thanks for the quick reply. I had to register in order to post a thank-you!

I must admit I am surprised at the answer! So just to confirm that I've understood:

"Our team of experts offer a unique blend of…" is right in British English
and
"Our team of experts offers a unique blend of…" would be American?

I see there are other threads that seem to confirm this view, but it's not something I've seen before.

Thanks.

Pauly_B aka Hotmetal

It all comes down to whether you regard the team as an entity or a group of individuals. If the former [ experts who work together as a group], then "offers" is correct; if the latter [experts who individually contribute to the work of a group], then "offer" is correct.

I am not sure it can be as proscriptive as AmE and BrE usage.