The Faculty Dilemma … and Other Collective Nouns
 
by editor abbagold39 (currently offline)
 

Even elementary school students know that subjects and verbs must agree.  Singular nouns take singular verbs, and plural nouns take plural verbs.  “Jane goes to the grocery store every Monday.” “The Smiths go to the grocery store every weekend.”

They also know that compound subjects joined with “and” take plural verbs.  “Jane and Jill go to the grocery store every Monday.” For compound subjects joined by “nor” or “or,” you choose your verb based on the word closest to the verb.  “Neither Jane nor the Smiths go to the store on Fridays.” Vice versa: “Neither the Smiths nor Jane goes to the store on Fridays.” So far, the rules sound relatively simple, do they not?

Now consider bacon and eggs.  You could correctly say, “Bacon and eggs is my favorite breakfast.” You could also correctly say, “Bacon and eggs are on my grocery list.” In the first, we treat bacon and eggs as a singular unit, a breakfast, and thus use the singular verb.  In the second, we are listing two separate items, and therefore use a plural verb.  This is where context and intent come into play — making a bit fuzzy the black and white, the right and wrong, of grammar.

However, correct treatment of compound subjects, once explained, makes sense to most writers.  But another noun category often creates controversy and confusion: the collective noun.  These nouns can frustrate even the best English teacher and writer.  But for the person who is not consistently surrounded by dictionaries, handbooks, and thesauruses, such matters of grammar appear an even bigger monster.  Let’s start with the basics.

Working as a writer and editor at a university, I commonly run across collective nouns.  
Among the most frequent to cross my desk are committee and faculty.  “The academic committee meets this afternoon.” “Our faculty is noted for its excellence in scholarship.” Others often encountered in academia include board, cabinet, class, council, department, group and team.  

Many times arguments ensue when trying to determine whether the situation calls for a singular or plural verb.  You may strongly believe you are right, while your colleague points to the green underline on the computer screen that screams “error!” Note: Even your computer’s grammar check often highlights an “error” in regard to collective nouns when, in fact, there is no mistake.

In most situations, you can safely follow the general rule for such nouns: Treat collective nouns as singular when they refer to a group as a single unit.  If you have trouble making this distinction, ask yourself this question: Are the individuals in this unit acting together? If so, use a singular verb.  

Consider the following example: “The English faculty meets every Monday afternoon to discuss curriculum changes.” In this sentence, we are referring to the whole group of university English teachers who are meeting in one place, together.  Therefore, we use a singular verb.

But every now and then, a situation arises that calls into question this rule.  These times, frustrating to say the least, are the few occasions when you must treat a collective noun as plural, with appropriate plural verbs.  Again, to help make this distinction, ask yourself if all the members are doing the exact same thing at the same time.  When a collective noun refers to the actions of individual members of a group, you should use a plural verb.  

For example: “The faculty are arguing about upcoming curriculum changes.” First, the word “arguing” implies at least two sides, so by its very nature we could infer that we are talking about individual members.  The faculty cannot be acting in one accord or doing the same thing at the same time if arguing, so we know we are talking about the members of the group.  

One way to help eliminate this dilemma is to follow the collective noun with the word “members.” Although it is implied in the above sentence, once we state it, the correct form becomes much more obvious: “The faculty members are arguing about upcoming curriculum changes.”

A second way to help simplify this debate is to substitute another word.  Consider this sentence: “The team is aiming for its first national title.” If you are unsure how to treat the word “team,” try replacing it with “players.” Does the following make sense? “The players is aiming for its first national title.” No.  The sentence makes you cringe! In this case, the individuals in this unit are doing the same thing at the same time, and a singular verb is needed.  

Can’t decide how to treat “family”? Use “relatives.” For “faculty,” try “teachers.” Now consider the sentence from above: The teachers are arguing about upcoming curriculum changes.” We know we have chosen correctly.  Replacement will usually make the right form obvious.

However, subject-verb agreement is only the first hurdle to overcome with collective nouns.  Once our subjects and verbs are in firm agreement, we must look at treatment of pronouns.  

Note the following sentence: “The soccer team plays in its first national championship game tomorrow.” We have already determined that a singular verb is correct.  That means pronouns must also agree with the verb: “Faculty members will cast their votes today.” “The board will render its decision tomorrow.”

Although collective nouns can cause major headaches, these tips should help you easily determine correct usage.  When in doubt, first examine the context and ask yourself the key questions.  Second, add “members” or substitute if necessary.  Finally, once your subjects and verbs agree, check your pronouns.  And remember, just because grammar check says it’s wrong, don’t assume it is.