[General] nouns of multitude + verb

[Boris Tatarenko]

Hello.

I guess it's very diffcult thread to understand.

For example: What is correct?

1. San Antonio Spurs has/have a good teamplay.
2. The United States is/are a the champion/champions
3. The Beatles is/are well-known music band.
4. Russia is/are the widest country in the world.

I suppose both are correct, but I'm not sure.
Is there a difference between BrE, AmE, AuE in this case?

Thanks in advance.
Boris.

 

[bhaisahab]

Hello.

I guess it's very diffcult thread to understand.

For example: What is correct?

1. San Antonio Spurs has/have a good teamplay. Both "has" and "have" are possible in BrE. It's not a natural sentence, though.
2. The United States is/are a the champion/champions. Both are possible in BrE.
3. The Beatles is/are well-known music band. As above
4. Russia is/are the widest country in the world. Only "is" is correct.

I suppose both are correct, but I'm not sure.
Is there a difference between BrE, AmE, AuE in this case?

Thanks in advance.
Boris.

Bhai.

 

[Barb_D]

Even with the BrE use of the plural for a team, it would still be "the champion" though, right?

In the US, you'd use "is" for the US. It's a single country.

With teams and bands, it's a big odd - we tend to use the plural if the team name is plural and the singular if the team name is singular. The Spurs are a good team. The Heat is a good team. But people are not consistent. The Beatles were great. Heart had a song called "Barracuda."

 

[5jj]

Even with the BrE use of the plural for a team, it would still be "the champion" though, right?

If the subject is considered as a plural, 'champions' is common.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04854XqcfCY