Help us fix old issues

[Phydios]

I think you're right. I seem to remember that while US English addresses groups as a single entity, UK English addresses them as multiple individuals.

Strictly speaking, there are times Americans are supposed to use the plural. For example:

“The team is playing.”
But when they act differently, you use plural.
“The team are arguing with each other.”

It sounds really foreign, but it’s correct, I do believe.

I can't remember ever hearing "the team are" in any context. Even in your example, I'd still say "the team is".

[Fauxia]

Strictly speaking, there are times Americans are supposed to use the plural. For example:

“The team is playing.”
But when they act differently, you use plural.
“The team are arguing with each other.”

It sounds really foreign, but it’s correct, I do believe.

I can't remember ever hearing "the team are" in any context. Even in your example, I'd still say "the team is".

Well, you, sir, are bad at gramma. I am not a gramma nazi, because, in the words of Bears Armed (I used to have this sigged), I am neither a gramma nazi nor a grampa nazi

[He Qixin 2]

In option 4 of issue #241, the issue that allows a nation to unlock the capital city field, the name "Lindsay Tew" was mentioned. Was that intentional?

[Merconitonitopia]

In option 4 of issue #241, the issue that allows a nation to unlock the capital city field, the name "Lindsay Tew" was mentioned. Was that intentional?

no, yes, its not random.

[He Qixin 2]

https://nsindex.net/wiki/NationStates_Issue_No._241

[Merconitonitopia]

oh I lied. yea, that's been confirmed to not be random for a long time.
why do you mention it?

[Baggieland]

Strictly speaking, there are times Americans are supposed to use the plural. For example:

“The team is playing.”
But when they act differently, you use plural.
“The team are arguing with each other.”

It sounds really foreign, but it’s correct, I do believe.

I can't remember ever hearing "the team are" in any context. Even in your example, I'd still say "the team is".

A collective noun is a single thing. That thing, however, is made up of more than one person. You cannot have a committee, team, or family of one; you need at least two people to compose the unit.

Because people behave as both herd animals and solitary creatures, collective nouns can be either singular or plural, depending on context. In writing, this double status often causes agreement errors. How do you tell if a collective noun is singular or plural? What verbs and pronouns do you use with the collective noun?

Here is the key: Imagine a flock of pigeons pecking at birdseed on the ground. Suddenly, a cat races out of the bushes. What do the pigeons do? They fly off as a unit in an attempt to escape the predator, wheeling through the sky in the same direction.

People often behave in the same manner, doing one thing in unison with the other members of their group. When these people are part of a collective noun, that noun becomes singular and requires singular verbs and pronouns. As you read the following examples, notice that all members of the collective noun are doing the same thing at the sametime:

Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field for practice.

Team = singular; follows = a singular verb; its= a singular pronoun. All members of the team arrive at the same place at the same time.

Today, Dr. Ribley's class takes its first 100-item exam.

Class = singular; takes = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the class are testing at the same time.

The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough evidence, so its verdict is not guilty.

Jury = singular; agrees = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the jury are thinking the same way.

Now imagine three house cats in the living room. Are the cats doing the same thing at the same time? Not this group! One cat might be sleeping on top of the warm television. Another might be grooming on the sofa. A third animal might be perched on the windowsill, watching the world outside. There is onegroup of animals, but the members of that group are all doing their own thing.

Members of collective nouns can behave in a similar fashion. When the members are acting as individuals, the collective noun is plural and requires plural verbs and pronouns. As you read these examples, notice that the members of the collective noun are not acting in unison:

After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower, change intotheir street clothes, and head to theirair-conditioned homes.

Team = plural; shower, change, head = plural verbs; their = a plural pronoun. The teammates are dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different directions for their individual homes.

After the long exam, the class start theirresearch papers on famous mathematicians.

Class = plural; start = a plural verb; their = a plural pronoun. The students are beginning their own research papers—in different places, at different times, on different mathematicians.

The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge thatthey are hopelessly deadlocked.

Jury = plural; disagree, have told = plural verbs; they = a plural pronoun. Not everyone on the jury is thinking the same way.

Whenever you cannot decide if a collective noun is singular or plural, exercise your options as a writer. You have two ways that you can compose the sentence without causing an agreement error: 1) insert the word members after the collective noun [jury members, committee members, board members], or 2) use an entirely different word [players instead of team, students instead of class,soldiers instead of army]. Then you can use plural verbs and pronouns without worrying about making mistakes or sounding unnatural.

[Baggieland]

The Treasury Department are greatly worried

Description of issue 769. Is this grammatical..?

So, is everyone at the department all worried, all at the same time? Or just someone at the department?

[He Qixin 2]

oh I lied. yea, that's been confirmed to not be random for a long time.
why do you mention it?

I just thought I would like the issues editing and moderators know.

[He Qixin 2]

Collective nouns like "team" and "herd" can be singular or plural depending on how they are used. Here are two examples:

The team is leaving for Bangkok tomorrow. (Referring to the entire group leaving for Bangkok as a group)
The team are dressing up for the game. (Used for individuals dressing up separately, as an entire group can't dress up together)

[He Qixin 2]

Description of issue 769. Is this grammatical..?

So, is everyone at the department all worried, all at the same time? Or just someone at the department?

"are" is used as it is referring to each individual person being worried.

[Merconitonitopia]

oh I lied. yea, that's been confirmed to not be random for a long time.
why do you mention it?

I just thought I would like the issues editing and moderators know.

it has been known for many years.

[He Qixin 2]

I just thought I would like the issues editing and moderators know.

it has been known for many years.

k i would just like to emphasize it again

[Ransium]

He Qixin 2 some names aren't random even though they could be. It's nothing that needs to be reported.

All the rest. It is a regional grammar thing, can please put it to rest now?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Agreed.

British and American English diverge on so many points of grammar, spelling and punctuation (yes, that was deliberate) and the NS way has never been to use a fixed style guide. Though, in retrospect, it might not have been a bad idea to do so.

As a result, the working practice of the editing team has been to use the English of the author's nation.

So those authors in the American Team is using* your grammar in your own funny way, while those authors in Team Britain are able to continue with proper English. We Editors, alas, must defer to the author's national style.

(*this is a joke)

[His Excellence]

I got issue 550, "10 Awful Crimes You Just Won’t Believe!" with a kitten softness of 67, was wondering if that's within the intended range of compassion validity

[He Qixin 2]

Agreed.

British and American English diverge on so many points of grammar, spelling and punctuation (yes, that was deliberate) and the NS way has never been to use a fixed style guide. Though, in retrospect, it might not have been a bad idea to do so.

As a result, the working practice of the editing team has been to use the English of the author's nation.

So those authors in the American Team is using* your grammar in your own funny way, while those authors in Team Britain are able to continue with proper English. We Editors, alas, must defer to the author's national style.

(*this is a joke)

Yeah, I agree.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

I got issue 550, "10 Awful Crimes You Just Won’t Believe!" with a kitten softness of 67, was wondering if that's within the intended range of compassion validity

The issue doesn't have a compassion validity check, and I don't think it needs one. A subculture could still have voyeuristic tendencies when it comes to cruelty, even if a society is highly compassionate as a whole.

[His Excellence]

A subculture could still have voyeuristic tendencies when it comes to cruelty, even if a society is highly compassionate as a whole.

Fair point. I only bring it up because the submission topic says "Not valid for nations with high compassion"

[The Grene Knyght]

Minor mistake in issue 875, option 2:

Missing quotation mark:
“I agree that these threats should be taken more seriously, but becoming a surveillance state isn’t the way to do it,” replies Ayla Martinez, acne-prone teenager, and veteran of three internet flame wars. The problem is the government social media division’s utter lack of effective moderation. You should see some of the comments the trolls get away with! Force them to create effective policies to deal with this sort of thing and notify the crime division if anything gets too serious.”
Quotation mark should go before 'The problem is the government' I believe

[Ransium]

Minor mistake in issue 875, option 2:

Missing quotation mark:
“I agree that these threats should be taken more seriously, but becoming a surveillance state isn’t the way to do it,” replies Ayla Martinez, acne-prone teenager, and veteran of three internet flame wars. The problem is the government social media division’s utter lack of effective moderation. You should see some of the comments the trolls get away with! Force them to create effective policies to deal with this sort of thing and notify the crime division if anything gets too serious.”
Quotation mark should go before 'The problem is the government' I believe

Thanks, fixed.

[Equality of Nations]

Issue 830 => "Unreasonable Adjustments" needs an extra option that does something like; having scientists try and figure out what dyslexic and dyscalculic students might be better at studying. Had to dismiss the issue because of the lack of such an option. Thanks.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Issue 830 => "Unreasonable Adjustments" needs an extra option that does something like; having scientists try and figure out what dyslexic and dyscalculic students might be better at studying. Had to dismiss the issue because of the lack of such an option. Thanks.

That's the sort of feedback to make during the drafting process, and for the author to take into account, or to be made during the editing process with subsequent discussions with the author about reasons for the proposed changes.

We don't lightly edit published issues, though it sometimes happens if there are glaring problems. The sort of thing you're suggesting is a simple matter of comprehensiveness of options vs overall issue length, elegance and structure. In other words, a writing decision to be made in drafting, not an error to be fixed.

[Equality of Nations]

Issue 830 => "Unreasonable Adjustments" needs an extra option that does something like; having scientists try and figure out what dyslexic and dyscalculic students might be better at studying. Had to dismiss the issue because of the lack of such an option. Thanks.

That's the sort of feedback to make during the drafting process, and for the author to take into account, or to be made during the editing process with subsequent discussions with the author about reasons for the proposed changes.

We don't lightly edit published issues, though it sometimes happens if there are glaring problems. The sort of thing you're suggesting is a simple matter of comprehensiveness of options vs overall issue length, elegance and structure. In other words, a writing decision to be made in drafting, not an error to be fixed.

Understood, just letting you know.

[Australian rePublic]

Issue 800 I don't get the 800 number joke in the effect line, and is that an international standard?