Know Your English (Sep 2001)

Know your English

Which of the following sentences is correct? The Government has many problems'' or ``The Government have many problems?"

Both are acceptable. It depends on how you view the Government. Do you consider the Government to be single impersonal unit, or do you look upon it as consisting of separate small units? If you view it as a single unit, then you can use a singular verb ``The Government has many problems". If, on the other hand, you view the Government as comprising several different units, then you can use the plural verb ``have''&151; ``The Government have many problems". There are many words in English, which can take either the singular or the plural verb - family, jury, committee, staff, team are just some of the nouns. Here are a few examples.
The jury was/were beginning to look bored.
The family was/were planning to move to Australia.


Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, September 25, 2001