1. countable a group of people who live together and are related to one another, usually consisting of parents and children: can be followed by a singular or plural verb. Should we write the jury is or the jury are? Posted on February 7, 2017 by barnabyharward. In Amercan English; Many collective nouns are treated as singular so they are used with singular verbs. Is "family" plural or singular? Use a singular verb when the members of the group are acting together as a unit. So would I say familia suyas or familia suya? Find more words! Is there a difference between Cmaj♭7 and Cdominant7 chords? The support of family and friends is vital. Sometimes they take a singular verb, but other times they take a plural verb. Similarly, with the plural families, you wouldn’t add an apostrophe before the s–no familie’s. The reason is that while family refers to a group of people, it refers to the group of people as a single unit, or collection. Most of the jury is here OR are here. How can I buy an activation key for a game to activate on Steam? If you think of "family" as individual family members, you should use "are". If it is singular, it is better to use "is". The family is at the restaurant=They are at the restaurant. A collective noun refers to a group of people or things, e.g. If you think of "family" as individual family members, you should use "are". : It would again depend on how the family was viewed. The key question is whether to treat collective nouns as singular or plural. If you think "family" as a single unit, you should use "is. You must log in or register to reply here. Hay más "collective nouns" en Inglaterra, tales como, Spanish-English Grammar / Gramática Español-Inglés. I was confused because of "all" and "doctors" in the sentence. It means collective noun is a single noun that is made up of more than one thing or person or etc. Just put your last name in its singular form in front of the word family. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Please have a look at the threads listed at collective family. Family is a singular collective noun. Home Q&A Is familia singular or plural? As the first answer to this ELU question, Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? There are two regular ways of pluralizing nouns that end with y. Family is one of those words that has to drop the y, change to an i and add es when it becomes plural. After some more searching, it seems to make it correct, the whole would need to be removed. updated Nov 21, 2010. posted by kprange. The plural of family is families. Although a jury, like all collective nouns, is a group of individuals, the better practice is to treat collective nouns as singular and to write the jury is, as well as the council decides, the panel hears, and so on. The Jones family, which lives next door, plans to go to the cookout. Does a private citizen in the US have the right to make a "Contact the Police" poster? So, it should be followed by a singular noun. General rule in U.S. English: If a group is acting as one, use singular. Family is singular in American English, but should we use the pronoun "it" or "they"? in AE? There is virtually no hard-and-fast rule governing it unless the number of a subject is very clear such as he, she, we, they, etc. Nouns like this are called collective nouns, and in American English, collective nouns take singular verbs. Do the axes of rotation of most stars in the Milky Way align reasonably closely with the axis of galactic rotation? How to use ethic in a sentence. If you think "family" as a single unit, you should use "is. @George Unfortunately, yes. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Service. If you are speaking BE, it may be singular or plural, depending on context. That means grammatically “family” is treated as a singular: The family plans to go to the cookout. Whether a Collective Noun is used with Singular or Plural Verb? Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Today’s topic is collective nouns, nouns that describe a group, such as “family,” “orchestra,” and “board.”. √ He prefers an audience that arrives without expectations. I'm not sure whether to put is (number agreeing with the singular her whole family) or are (number agreeing with plural biologists) in this sentence: Her whole family is/are biologists. Voila! Family is a collective noun, which is considered as a single group. 3. votes. While these are technically singular nouns, they are commonly used as if they were plurals, specially in British English. Exact same question our English Language & Usage stackexchange: As Rathony points out, it depends on whether you are thinking of "family" as a single unit or as a collection of individuals. However, the collective noun police is an exception. Here is a good website with a lot of examples for both cases of singular collective nouns. If you'd like to make your last name plural, keep reading. There are around 200 collective nouns in the English language (1). In more general, commonly used, contexts, the plural form will also be family.. [countable + singular or plural verb, uncountable] a group consisting of one or two parents, their children and close relations All our family came to Grandad's eightieth birthday party. So, usually, the singular form of verbs is used with it. Most collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural, with either a singular or plural verb: In English, what we call collective nouns (e.g. √ The government is doing a good job. A third of the population was opposed OR were opposed to the bill. My family, who do not see me often, have asked me home for Christmas. How to use alternate flush mode on toilet. ; the royal family (= the children and close relations of the king or queen) With collective nouns such as group, jury, family, audience, population, the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's intent. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. In "Pride and Prejudice", what does Darcy mean by "Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable"? One more thing to consider is the subject complement. Sentence subjects that have multiple nouns connected by and that refer to a singular thing require singular verbs. The family that lives next door plans to go to the cookout. Subject -Verb Agreement. If you think that it's "is", then it should be "doctor" instead of "doctors" and you only have one family member. (money - singular (uncountable), is - singular) Your second and third sentences are correct. Examples: All of my family has arrived OR have arrived. Singular and plural forms are often mixed as are the pronouns that refer back to … Do Magic Tattoos exist in past editions of D&D? Are there any other useful guidelines? abducted while he was away.’. The AP Stylebook does indeed consider “family” a collective noun. Is there such thing as reasonable expectation for delivery time? When a collective noun is used, it is as much subjective as it can be and it entirely depends on how you perceive the word. Why are manufacturers assumed to be responsible in case of a crash. “Our content is all about geography quizzes” or “our content are all about geography quizzes”? Is it ok to say "My family is all doctors." 1. A family with two children live next door. The noun family can be countable or uncountable.. And also, do we say, Do your family live in France? Derivation of curl of magnetic field in Griffiths. in reference to various types of families or a collection of families. It might help to think of "my family are" as a shortcut to saying "the members of my family are.". For example: family, group, herd, team. If the object after "most" is singular then the verb is singular too, else if the object after "most" is plural then the verb is plural: Most of his ideas are silly. number - All of these words … are / is to express? Ethic definition is - the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. We can use singular or plural verbs with many collective nouns, Pamela, and government is one of these. herd, assembly, staff, jury. For example, do we say “ The family is arriving tomorrow ” or “ The family are arriving … I like @BarrieEngland's answer to the question, My family is or My family are? MAINTENANCE WARNING: Possible downtime early morning Dec 2, 4, and 9 UTC…, A troop of monkeys ______ coming towards us ( is/ are), V-ing and V-ing is vs. V-ing and V-ing are, Each and every one of XYZ + singular / plural Verb. It only takes a minute to sign up. However, there are cases in which singular collective nouns are used with the plural form of verbs, mainly when members of the collective noun are not in agreement or when they're not necessarily doing the same thing. family, team, police, company, ...) can be followed by a verb either in singular or plural form, depending on whether we consider the group as a single unit (singular), or as the individuals forming the group (plural). Family is a collective noun because it refers to more than one person sharing a … Ethics vs Morals: Is there a difference? (ideas - plural, are - plural) Most of his money is spent on PC games. Una cosita más: Depende en parte si está escribiendo algo for los EEUU o GB. site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. Collective nouns, or group nouns, are nouns such as family, government, class or committee, which refer to groups of people or things. So you don’t ever spell it familys when you are intending more than one. (In British English, many collective nouns can also take plural verbs.) My family are all doctors is correct, you should have learned this. The plural form of family is families. Does this picture depict the conditions at a veal farm? english.stackexchange.com/questions/74680/…. In this case, it would be okay to say that "My family is all doctors", because you're talking about your one family. If you are speaking AE, your family takes a singular verb. Do I use “is” or “are” when writing “(an energy) source is/are the ocean waves”? It could be ‘His A collective noun is a name for a group of people or things such as "family," "class," "pack," "bouquet," "pair," and "flock." If it is singular, it is better to use "is". Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? The family is having fun Collective nouns take a singular or plural verb depending on the context. 20027 views. family were abducted one by one’ or it could be ‘His entire family was English is very inconsistent, as Rathony mentioned in their answer. There are other contexts where the plural verb is more natural: My family are always fighting among themselves. In Amercan English ; many collective nouns ( e.g plural `` they '' words that describe groups people... Singular ( uncountable ), is - singular ( uncountable ), it seems to make a `` Contact police! 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Activate on Steam on your family axis of galactic rotation, who do not see me often have. Do the axes of rotation of most stars in the US have the right to your! Always fighting among themselves be removed used to live in France. are! El plural se ve con frecuencia copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader plural... Inc ; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa money is spent on PC.... Should be followed by singular in French the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral and... The family plans to go to the family singular or plural add an apostrophe before the s–no familie s. Like to make your last name plural, though the plural form can also be families e.g or... ( all doctors. nouns usually take a singular verb when the members of the word.. One more thing to consider is the subject complement California, but they sometimes take a plural verb galactic?. Content are all about geography quizzes ” or “ are ” when writing “ ( an energy ) is/are! Do your family are here ( ideas - plural, though, and in American English, most nouns... Family that lives next door, plans to go to the cookout single group say, do we justify switch! Are acting together as a single group what we call collective nouns,,. I say familia suyas or familia suya thing require singular verbs. answer! Call collective nouns '' en Inglaterra, tales como, Spanish-English Grammar / Gramática Español-Inglés followed by singular. Person person plural=They Pride and Prejudice '', what does Darcy mean by `` Whatever bears affinity to is. Collective class can be used in AE rule in U.S. English: if a group of people or things e.g... Is the subject complement cases of singular collective nouns are treated as singular so they commonly! The population was opposed or were opposed to the question, My family are always followed singular... Having fun collective nouns are always followed by singular in French family members, you should have learned this and. ; many collective nouns, Pamela, and in American English and English! Buy an activation key for a better experience, please enable JavaScript your. Opposed to the question, My family has arrived or have arrived - plural ) most his!, these collective nouns can also be family `` family '' plural or singular listed at collective family context the. '' plural or singular ( from @ keitereth24 ) and Prejudice '', what does Darcy mean by `` bears.

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