Is It 'Is' or 'Are' in Band Names?

[mcndogg]

In Australian English, if someone were to ask another person how much they like a particular band, should 'is' or 'are' be used?
For example, Is it correct to say "How good is ABBA?" or "How good are ABBA?"

 

[emsr2d2]

In Australian English, if someone were to ask another person how much they like a particular band, should 'is' or 'are' be used?
For example, is it correct to say "How good is ABBA?" or "How good are ABBA?"

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

I'm sure one of our Australian members will respond at some point, but I can tell you that British English would use "are" there. A band, by definition, consists of more than one member so we use the plural.

Your member profile shows that Australian English is your native language - do you use "is" or "are" in such a question? Please check your member profile - it shows your current location as Australia but your digital footprint resolves to a different location.

 

[mcndogg]

Hey thanks a lot, I appreciate that warm welcome.

Thank you for consolidating the use of "are" there for me.

Yes, I believe most Aussies when writing would write it as "How good are ABBA?" That would be the proper way as far as I know.

If we're specifically discussing Australians speaking in a conversation I think that "How good is ABBA?" and "How good are ABBA?" can be so interchangeable that even English grammar nitpickers wouldn't be bothered.

Other examples I can think of where "is" could be used in an Australian conversation without it sounding strange would be would be Fleetwood Mac, Tame Impala, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival etc.

...Although now that I've thought about it if you change it to The Beatles then "are" just sounds like it must be used. As "How good is The Beatles?" does not sound right at all. It has to be "How good are The Beatles".

I wonder why this is? It's interesting that the band name used in the sentence when the incorrect "is" is used seems to alter how wrong it sounds when heard. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Can anyone confirm if this happens for them as well? Also does anyone know why this might be?

Cheers

 

[5jj]

As "How good is The Beatles?" does not sound right at all. It has to be "How good are The Beatles".

I wonder why this is?

The name the Beatles clearly refers to more than one Beatle. The names Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, etc, do not obviously refer to more than one person.

 

[Skrej]

AmE generally treats it as plural if it's clearly plural (such as the Bee Gees, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Eyed Peas, etc.), and singular if not (e.g. AC/DC, REO Speedwagon, Nirvana).

Coldplay is performing in Austin next week.
The Bee Gees were a popular disco band.

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you for consolidating the use of "are" there for me.

I'm patiently waiting for somebody to explain that one.

I wonder why this is?

That's not a question, so it has the wrong punctuation.

 

[Tdol]

If we're specifically discussing Australians speaking in a conversation I think that "How good is ABBA?" and "How good are ABBA?" can be so interchangeable that even English grammar nitpickers wouldn't be bothered

In British English, it is not wrong to use a singular verb with a collective noun, but with a band it sounds odd to me, even with names like Led Zep.