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comm
Joined: 22 Jun 2010
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 Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| YTMND wrote: |
| comm wrote: |
| "Team England" is the same as the box |
No, Team England and the players ARE one in the same. They are the players!! |
That's like saying that "my family" and "my family members" are the same. You can refer to the members using the plural, or the group using the singular.
To change the perspective... if we're watching a game and I ask "Which team is on the left?", I hope you would respond using the word "is" rather than "are".
It would be ridiculous to ask "What team are on the left?", and it would be just as ridiculous to respond that "Team England are on the left". |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| it would be just as ridiculous to respond that "Team England are on the left". |
I would think grammatically and logically, "Team England are on the left" is more correct. However, my ears don't see a problem accepting "is" and changing it to "they are on the left".
It's the same cognitive jump a kid will go through when they hear that their parents brought home a bag of cookies.
"Which bag has the cookies?"
"The one on the left."
"Good, I want them."
End result, them. End result for "team is on the left" = "They (players) are on the left."
However, I doubt sports fans or hungry kids with a sweet tooth will stop to wonder if they used the proper tense. |
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comm
Joined: 22 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 1:03 am Post subject: |
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| YTMND wrote: |
"Which bag has the cookies?"
"The one on the left."
"Good, I want them." |
But in this example they are referring to two very different things. There is a bag, and there are cookies. The singular or plural is used consistently with each respective item. If you took your bag of cookies and gave it a name, you'd refer to that name in the singular and only refer to the cookies as a plural if you referenced the cookies specifically.
Let me give another example:
Say there's a team with only 1 person on it (rare, but let's call it a handicap match). Wouldn't you -absolutely- have to refer to that team in the singular? |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 7:45 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Say there's a team with only 1 person on it (rare, but let's call it a handicap match). Wouldn't you -absolutely- have to refer to that team in the singular? |
I don't see any sane way to reply to this. Yes a ridiculous premise would lead to a ridiculous conclusion.
With one person, they say, "NAME of COUNTRY". So, no, they don't refer to the person as a team but a player from a country.
| Quote: |
| But in this example they are referring to two very different things. |
Yes, but you don't question it. The kid doesn't stop eating the cookies because he said "them" when he should have said "it" referring to the bag.
The sports fan doesn't stop watching the game because they said "is" when the players "are" on the left. |
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comm
Joined: 22 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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| YTMND wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Say there's a team with only 1 person on it (rare, but let's call it a handicap match). Wouldn't you -absolutely- have to refer to that team in the singular? |
I don't see any sane way to reply to this. Yes a ridiculous premise would lead to a ridiculous conclusion. |
There are no Olympic events where a country's team is embodied by one person? |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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| comm wrote: |
| YTMND wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Say there's a team with only 1 person on it (rare, but let's call it a handicap match). Wouldn't you -absolutely- have to refer to that team in the singular? |
I don't see any sane way to reply to this. Yes a ridiculous premise would lead to a ridiculous conclusion. |
There are no Olympic events where a country's team is embodied by one person? |
This is how I see one Olympic athlete representing their country being referred to.
"Teen Olympic Hopefuls, including George Truong and Carla Butler of USA Judo's OTC in Colorado Springs, CO." - http://www.usjudo.org/
There are 2 people mentioned, but that would also be how one person is referred to.
Stop making stupid conclusions. I never said one person never represented their country. |
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