Re: USAGE: number concord in AmE, again

Siyo
One thing I've noticed even in my short 28 years is a
shift in American English from the use of singular
verbs with collective nouns to the use of plural
verbs.  I am more apt to think this has to do with
sloppy or inattentive teaching than it might with
British influence (I would feel better about it if it
were the latter case).

Clint

--- And Rosta <a-rosta@...> wrote:
> Since several people insisted to me in a recent
> discussion
> on this list that in AmE verb agreement is
> determined
> purely by syntactic number, I was struck by the
> following,
> said by the senator from Nevada near the start of
> The
> Godfather part II: "the Sierra Boys' Choir, who have
> chosen a special song". Is this because animacy
> overrides
> number concord, so that "who have" is preferable to
> "which has"?
>
> --And.

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