Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83 based; site houxm.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!hou3c!hocda!houxm!dis2 From: dis2@houxm.UUCP (A.NESTOR) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re:Grammer (Sic!) Quiz Message-ID: <798@houxm.UUCP> Date: Thu, 14-Jun-84 12:22:05 EDT Article-I.D.: houxm.798 Posted: Thu Jun 14 12:22:05 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 15-Jun-84 01:13:13 EDT Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ Lines: 13 "The team won its first game tonight. Afterwards, they went out to cellebrate." Except for the spelling of "cellebrate", the sentences are correct. A noun which refers to an aggregate takes a singular or plural pronoun according to whether it is used in a collective or distributive sense. The sense of the sentences is that the team as a whole won the game and the members of the team went out to celebrate. In connection with collective and distributive number, it is interesting to note that the British say that the government are , while Americans say that the government is. Creighton Clarke sdcsvax!decvax!harpo!eagle!mhuxl!houxm!dis2