couple plural or singular

[ostap77]

"A couple is trying reach a mutual agreement."

OR

"A couple are trying to reach a mutual agreement."

A couple=two people. Is it plural or singular?

 

[5jj]

In what follows, I am referring only to BrE.

Many 'group words' can be followed by a singular or plural verb form, depending on whether the speaker is thinking of one group or more than one person in a group; so:

The government has decided to do away with the Council Tax. or:
The government have decided to do away with the Council Tax.

However, the word couple is always followed by a plural verb form:

"A couple are trying to reach a mutual agreement."

 

[Barb_D]

Am I the only person who, when faced with a task of saying things like "The couple is..." and then "The couple are..." several times in a row, finds that either they both sound right or they both sound wrong?

 

[5jj]

Am I the only person who, when faced with a task of saying things like "The couple is..." and then "The couple are..." several times in a row, finds that either they both sound right or they both sound wrong?

Indeed no. I'll start to write for one of these threads, supremely confident that I know exactly what the right answer is. Then I'll say it and the incorrect alternative over as I write, and begin to have doubts. By the time I have got to the end, I have lost all confidence in myself. I do not submit the post and have to go away to a reference book to check up on what I KNEW five minutes before.:roll:

 

[2006]

"A couple" is of uncertain meaning. "The couple", as in a married couple, is singular to me.

'A couple of people are....
'
The couple is...
The team is...
The government is....

I know that British speakers say 'The team are...'.

 

[Tdol]

As a BrE speaker, I woul use the plural for two people in a relationship, married,etc.

Am I the only person who, when faced with a task of saying things like "The couple is..." and then "The couple are..." several times in a row, finds that either they both sound right or they both sound wrong?

I'll add another no- questions about singular and plural come up so often- they are incredibly tricky sometimes.