Is “a flock of birds” always followed by a singular verb?
I wondered that "a flock of birds" is always followed by a singular verb and "flocks of birds" is always followed by a plural verb.
Please help me make this confusion crystal clear.
Thanks so much!
verb-agreement collective-nouns
asked 4 hours ago
Kiều ĐỗKiều Đỗ
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I wondered that "a flock of birds" is always followed by a singular verb and "flocks of birds" is always followed by a plural verb.
Please help me make this confusion crystal clear.
Thanks so much!
verb-agreement collective-nouns
asked 4 hours ago
Kiều ĐỗKiều Đỗ
1
New contributor
Kiều Đỗ is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
I wondered that "a flock of birds" is always followed by a singular verb and "flocks of birds" is always followed by a plural verb.
Please help me make this confusion crystal clear.
Thanks so much!
verb-agreement collective-nouns
asked 4 hours ago
Kiều ĐỗKiều Đỗ
1
New contributor
Kiều Đỗ is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I wondered that "a flock of birds" is always followed by a singular verb and "flocks of birds" is always followed by a plural verb.
Please help me make this confusion crystal clear.
Thanks so much!
verb-agreement collective-nouns
verb-agreement collective-nouns
asked 4 hours ago
Kiều ĐỗKiều Đỗ
1
New contributor
Kiều Đỗ is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
Kiều ĐỗKiều Đỗ
1
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asked 4 hours ago
Kiều ĐỗKiều Đỗ
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asked 4 hours ago
Kiều ĐỗKiều Đỗ
1
asked 4 hours ago
Kiều ĐỗKiều Đỗ
1
1
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New contributor
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2 Answers
2
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votes
"A flock of birds" is a singular noun. It is one flock, so it takes singular forms of any verbs.
"Flocks of birds" is a plural noun. There are many flocks, so it takes plural forms of any verbs.
There is nothing that needs to be confusing.
answered 3 hours ago
DJClayworthDJClayworth
11.1k12535
1
Singular/plural agreement is only a feature of the third person in the present tense. And many English speakers follow a sg/pl rule that agrees with the last noun phrase before the auxiliary, instead of agreeing with the number of the quantifier. This already happened with lot -- a lot of people are coming, not is coming.
– John Lawler
2 hours ago
add a comment |
It depends largely on context being American or British English. From this link, third bullet under the "But!" section:
American English versus British English differ. In British English,
most collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural depending
on context (e.g., one could say “the whole family was at the table” or
“the family were opposed to the idea.”) American English tends to
construe collective nouns as singular.
Several times I've heard British speakers say things like, "The crowd are loving it!" or "The family go to the beach every summer," although in America we would normally say "The crowd is loving it!" or "The family goes to the beach every summer."
The same seems to apply to any collective noun, including "flock."
answered 3 hours ago
JDM-GBGJDM-GBG
711119
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
"A flock of birds" is a singular noun. It is one flock, so it takes singular forms of any verbs.
"Flocks of birds" is a plural noun. There are many flocks, so it takes plural forms of any verbs.
There is nothing that needs to be confusing.
answered 3 hours ago
DJClayworthDJClayworth
11.1k12535
1
Singular/plural agreement is only a feature of the third person in the present tense. And many English speakers follow a sg/pl rule that agrees with the last noun phrase before the auxiliary, instead of agreeing with the number of the quantifier. This already happened with lot -- a lot of people are coming, not is coming.
– John Lawler
2 hours ago
add a comment |
"A flock of birds" is a singular noun. It is one flock, so it takes singular forms of any verbs.
"Flocks of birds" is a plural noun. There are many flocks, so it takes plural forms of any verbs.
There is nothing that needs to be confusing.
answered 3 hours ago
DJClayworthDJClayworth
11.1k12535
1
Singular/plural agreement is only a feature of the third person in the present tense. And many English speakers follow a sg/pl rule that agrees with the last noun phrase before the auxiliary, instead of agreeing with the number of the quantifier. This already happened with lot -- a lot of people are coming, not is coming.
– John Lawler
2 hours ago
add a comment |
"A flock of birds" is a singular noun. It is one flock, so it takes singular forms of any verbs.
"Flocks of birds" is a plural noun. There are many flocks, so it takes plural forms of any verbs.
There is nothing that needs to be confusing.
answered 3 hours ago
DJClayworthDJClayworth
11.1k12535
"A flock of birds" is a singular noun. It is one flock, so it takes singular forms of any verbs.
"Flocks of birds" is a plural noun. There are many flocks, so it takes plural forms of any verbs.
There is nothing that needs to be confusing.
answered 3 hours ago
DJClayworthDJClayworth
11.1k12535
answered 3 hours ago
DJClayworthDJClayworth
11.1k12535
answered 3 hours ago
DJClayworthDJClayworth
11.1k12535
answered 3 hours ago
DJClayworthDJClayworth
11.1k12535
11.1k12535
1
Singular/plural agreement is only a feature of the third person in the present tense. And many English speakers follow a sg/pl rule that agrees with the last noun phrase before the auxiliary, instead of agreeing with the number of the quantifier. This already happened with lot -- a lot of people are coming, not is coming.
– John Lawler
2 hours ago
add a comment |
1
Singular/plural agreement is only a feature of the third person in the present tense. And many English speakers follow a sg/pl rule that agrees with the last noun phrase before the auxiliary, instead of agreeing with the number of the quantifier. This already happened with lot -- a lot of people are coming, not is coming.
– John Lawler
2 hours ago
1
1
Singular/plural agreement is only a feature of the third person in the present tense. And many English speakers follow a sg/pl rule that agrees with the last noun phrase before the auxiliary, instead of agreeing with the number of the quantifier. This already happened with lot -- a lot of people are coming, not is coming.
– John Lawler
2 hours ago
Singular/plural agreement is only a feature of the third person in the present tense. And many English speakers follow a sg/pl rule that agrees with the last noun phrase before the auxiliary, instead of agreeing with the number of the quantifier. This already happened with lot -- a lot of people are coming, not is coming.
– John Lawler
2 hours ago
add a comment |
It depends largely on context being American or British English. From this link, third bullet under the "But!" section:
American English versus British English differ. In British English,
most collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural depending
on context (e.g., one could say “the whole family was at the table” or
“the family were opposed to the idea.”) American English tends to
construe collective nouns as singular.
Several times I've heard British speakers say things like, "The crowd are loving it!" or "The family go to the beach every summer," although in America we would normally say "The crowd is loving it!" or "The family goes to the beach every summer."
The same seems to apply to any collective noun, including "flock."
answered 3 hours ago
JDM-GBGJDM-GBG
711119
add a comment |
It depends largely on context being American or British English. From this link, third bullet under the "But!" section:
American English versus British English differ. In British English,
most collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural depending
on context (e.g., one could say “the whole family was at the table” or
“the family were opposed to the idea.”) American English tends to
construe collective nouns as singular.
Several times I've heard British speakers say things like, "The crowd are loving it!" or "The family go to the beach every summer," although in America we would normally say "The crowd is loving it!" or "The family goes to the beach every summer."
The same seems to apply to any collective noun, including "flock."
answered 3 hours ago
JDM-GBGJDM-GBG
711119
add a comment |
It depends largely on context being American or British English. From this link, third bullet under the "But!" section:
American English versus British English differ. In British English,
most collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural depending
on context (e.g., one could say “the whole family was at the table” or
“the family were opposed to the idea.”) American English tends to
construe collective nouns as singular.
Several times I've heard British speakers say things like, "The crowd are loving it!" or "The family go to the beach every summer," although in America we would normally say "The crowd is loving it!" or "The family goes to the beach every summer."
The same seems to apply to any collective noun, including "flock."
answered 3 hours ago
JDM-GBGJDM-GBG
711119
It depends largely on context being American or British English. From this link, third bullet under the "But!" section:
American English versus British English differ. In British English,
most collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural depending
on context (e.g., one could say “the whole family was at the table” or
“the family were opposed to the idea.”) American English tends to
construe collective nouns as singular.
Several times I've heard British speakers say things like, "The crowd are loving it!" or "The family go to the beach every summer," although in America we would normally say "The crowd is loving it!" or "The family goes to the beach every summer."
The same seems to apply to any collective noun, including "flock."
answered 3 hours ago
JDM-GBGJDM-GBG
711119
answered 3 hours ago
JDM-GBGJDM-GBG
711119
answered 3 hours ago
JDM-GBGJDM-GBG
711119
answered 3 hours ago
JDM-GBGJDM-GBG
711119
711119
add a comment |
add a comment |
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