Calum Veteran Posted November 22, 2010 Veteran Share Posted November 22, 2010 I'm only asking for insight from the perspective of the U.K. here, as I believe the rules are different in some other countries. I tend to think I'm pretty good with grammar, but I'm writing a report and seem to be stuck on some wording. I have stated "[...] Company name has been [...]," but I have later written "[...] they now have 29 [...]" I can't really give much more context, in case my peers are reading this thread; however, I would like some advice on my use of 'has' and 'have'. I've always thought it's best to use 'has' when talking about a company (am I right?), but my second example seems to fit best, which is what confuses me. I can't find much on the Internet, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewmarley Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 "have"is when yo refer to you as having something, "has" is when someone else has something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran Posted November 22, 2010 Veteran Share Posted November 22, 2010 In the UK, there is a tendency to treat companies and other 'group' entities as 'they' and so to give them plural verbs: 'Microsoft have released the latest version of their Windows operating system.' This does not seem to be done most of the time in the USA. The only time I've heard it done here is with 'police'. 'Police' is a plural in both the USA and the UK. Think of football teams and sporting countries in the UK: 'Arsenal have won!' and 'England have no chance.' In the UK, it's when it 'feels' like a group of people that it becomes plural. Think of 'the government'. 'The government are planning to enforce austerity measures' sounds fine in the UK. In the USA, they would say 'is' (as Jeremy Paxman usually does as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Patriot Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I'm not entirely certain, but it seems that in the US, companies are treated (gramatically) as a single entity (just as a single person), while in the UK, companies are treated as a group of people. For example, in the US, we would say "Microsoft is releasing a new version of Windows", but in the UK people would say "Microsoft are releasing a new version of Windows". edit: James beat me to it, and even used nearly identical examples!!! :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran Posted November 22, 2010 Veteran Share Posted November 22, 2010 edit: James beat me to it, and even used nearly identical examples!!! :rofl: That is strange! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 when i worked i used to see memos from upper management with all kinds of grammar mistakes all the time so i wouldn't sweat it too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Veteran Posted November 22, 2010 Author Veteran Share Posted November 22, 2010 when i worked i used to see memos from upper management with all kinds of grammar mistakes all the time so i wouldn't sweat it too much. It's for university :D Thank you to everybody for the advice; it has been very helpful. Looking through the rest of what I have written so far, it appears I've used 'they' and 'have' more than I realised. I'm glad I could get some clarification before I wrote all 12 pages :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran Posted November 22, 2010 Veteran Share Posted November 22, 2010 It's for university :D Thank you to everybody for the advice; it has been very helpful. Looking through the rest of what I have written so far, it appears I've used 'they' and 'have' more than I realised. I'm glad I could get some clarification before I wrote all 12 pages :D lol I advise going the Jeremy Paxman route. He is always so annoyed, he's got to be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 in that case i would try my best then. then again, is for an english or writing course? i'm not sure how other kinds of courses grade ased on these kinds of things, but i'd imagine they wouldn't be too harsh on minor mistakes like this(if they are even mistakes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Veteran Posted November 22, 2010 Author Veteran Share Posted November 22, 2010 lol I advise going the Jeremy Paxman route. He is always so annoyed, he's got to be right. Ahh, good point :D in that case i would try my best then. then again, is for an english or writing course? i'm not sure how other kinds of courses grade ased on these kinds of things, but i'd imagine they wouldn't be too harsh on minor mistakes like this(if they are even mistakes) You raise a good point. It's not an English course, so I don't think it matters too much. The marking scheme doesn't mention anything about grammar, but I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treemonster Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 well if the job you are aiming for has a lot of writing involved it's not a bad idea to get into the habit o fhaving near perfect grammar and typing anyway, as it will make you look more competent to your boss and co workers that have to read what you write. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raa Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I has no idea what you're asking for? :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nashy Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I didn't read all the replies, I'm in Australia, and we use their English. What's you've written is perfectly fine IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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