Team is or team are?
American English defaults to singular with collectives; British English can choose plural when individual members are in focus. Keep verb and pronoun consistent, and check proximity or the full number phrase elsewhere.
- Unit or members guides the collective choice.
- With either-or, the nearer subject decides.
- A number is plural; the number is singular.
01 / 07
Team is or team are — which form fits?
With team is or team are, the fitting form reflects both meaning and regional variety. American English defaults to singular with collective nouns and treats the team as one unit. British English can choose plural when the individual members are in focus. That is why "The board has made its decision" and "The team are still arguing about the details" can each fit their stated reading. Consistency then matters: a singular verb needs a singular pronoun within the same sentence, while a plural verb needs a plural pronoun. A mixed sentence such as "The board have made its decision" combines two readings and is repaired by aligning both choices. The task is not to label one regional pattern universally right and the other wrong; it is to check unit meaning, member focus, and region. Rule: choose the collective reading first and keep verb and pronoun in the same number.
02 / 07
Collective nouns singular or plural — how do BrE and AmE differ?
With English collective nouns, the main variation concerns how visibly the members are in focus and which regional variety you are using. In British and Irish English, words such as team, government, staff, and company routinely take plural verbs when members are in focus. American English defaults to singular; plural are appears there mainly in compound subjects. GloWbE corpus data confirms that plural verbs are more common in British, Irish, and NZ English. This is a general pattern, not the same observation as the cleft-specific note in Cleft Sentences. In a business report, decide on the variety and reading before adding pronouns. When an American version needs individual people in focus, recast the collective as "Managers are divided …". Rule: BrE routinely allows member-focused plural agreement; AmE prefers singular agreement with collectives.
03 / 07
Data is or data are — which variant do you choose?
With data is or data are, choose by register: singular is the safe business default, while scientific and formal writing can preserve plural agreement. A version such as "The data is ready" therefore fits an ordinary business report. When a scientific or deliberately formal text treats data as plural, keep that decision plural throughout the sentence. Pronunciation does not change the agreement choice; the lesson gives /ˈdeɪtə/, or "DAY-tuh," as the safe business default. The point is not to make the two variants compete inside one document, but to maintain the choice that fits the context. The historical reason for the plural survives in the FAQ, yet the register check is enough for the writing decision. Rule: tend towards data is in business and keep data are consistent in scientific or formal plural use.
04 / 07
A number of vs the number of — how does agreement change?
A number of takes a plural verb, while the number of names one total and therefore takes a singular verb. The lesson contrast makes the difference visible: "A number of key accounts were at risk" foregrounds several accounts, but "the number of complaints was rising fast" speaks about one total. A German transfer such as "A number of invoices was never sent" follows the singular shape of eine Anzahl too closely and must become "A number of invoices were never sent." The reverse check is "The number of late deliveries has doubled." The additional edge case is each of: although a plural noun follows each of, the verb remains singular. Read these as complete number expressions; the nearest plural noun alone does not give a reliable answer. Rule: read the opening fully — a number of is plural, while the number of and each of are singular.
05 / 07
Either-or and neither-nor verb agreement — how does proximity work?
With either-or and neither-nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it. In the example "Either the supplier or the terms change," the plural noun terms sits directly before the verb and therefore controls change. Reversing the order can place a singular subject nearest and trigger the corresponding singular form. At this edge, the first subject is not a permanent controller of the verb. If a formally possible order sounds awkward, place the plural subject last. The plural verb then sits beside its visible trigger. The same proximity principle applies to neither-nor. Keep the pairings intact: either goes with or, and neither with nor. The basic determiner meanings remain in the linked B2 lesson. Rule: the nearer subject decides with both pairs; place the plural last when that reads more naturally.
06 / 07
Which agreement errors do German-speaking learners transfer?
German-speaking learners mainly transfer forced singular agreement with collectives and the singular shape of eine Anzahl into English edge cases. The first error appears when individual members are intended but the English version remains singular, or when verb and pronoun carry different numbers. "The board have made its decision" becomes "The board has made its decision" for a consistent unit reading. The British member-focused reading repairs "The management is divided among themselves about the merger" as "The management are divided among themselves about the merger." The American recast is "Managers are divided …" The second transfer appears in "A number of invoices was never sent"; the correction is "A number of invoices were never sent." Check such sentences twice: first for meaning or full number expression, then for consistency through the pronoun. Rule: do not copy the German singular surface; align the entire English agreement chain.
07 / 07
Which lessons carry the basics beneath these edge cases?
The basics beneath these C2 edge cases remain in the linked lessons, so this lesson does not restart with elementary singular agreement. Each, Every, Either, Neither at B2 carries the core determiner meanings; only proximity and the each of decision are added here. Countable and Uncountable Nouns at A2 supports the distinction between countable and uncountable nouns, while this lesson handles only the specified number expressions and the register contrast for data. Cleft Sentences at C1 is linked as another prerequisite; the regional GloWbE observation here is explicitly a general collective pattern, not the cleft-specific note. Return to those lessons whenever your question falls below the edge layer. Rule: use this lesson for variation, proximity, and number expressions; use the pointers for the basics.