If these nouns are acting as a unit, use a singular verb. The plural form staffs is less frequent but is used in both british english and north american english to refer to more than one group of people. The associated press stylebook touches on the topic, saying, nouns that denote a unit take singular verbs and pronouns. Another useful resource for alaskaspecific questions is the ap stylebook for alaska sign up for the uaf editorial style guide group. The associated press stylebook, arguably the foremost arbiter of grammar and word choice in journalism, has added an entry for they as a singular, genderneutral pronoun in. The 2019 edition of the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law includes more than 200 new or revised entries, with chapters covering data journalism, business, fashion, food, religion and sports terms, as well as media law, news values, punctuation, social media, polls and surveys and a new chapter on health and science. I always cringe when i see or hear references to the toronto maple leafs. However, the subject is one, which is singular and takes a singular verb. Members of the staff have earned many sales awards this year. The style entry notes that when they is singular it takes a plural verb.
Before lunch is considered the best time for the editorial staff. Sometimes, it depends by jennifer rappaport the distributive plural. Jan 06, 2020 the ap stylebook, in an entry added in march 2017, suggests that repeating a persons name or rewording is preferable to using the epicene pronoun, but it allows for they with explanation. Favorite this tweet if you prefer are in most cases. Guestwriter bonnie trenga writes, there are around 200 collective nouns in the english language 1. We took at look at the ap stylebooks section on possessions possessives and exorcised some demons coming up with these guidelines. The ap stylebook now includes they as a singular, genderneutral pronoun. Muhammad our style for the prophets name and for most muhammads living in arab countries, though where someones preferred spelling is known. Do you use a singular or plural verb to match a collective noun such as team or staff.
Is the word like agenda, technically the plural of agendum. Here are some examples with singular from the oxford english corpus since the newspaper staff is inundated with these letters everyday, they have no choice but to publish at least some of them. For singular proper names ending in s sounds such as x, ce, and z, use s for plurals of a single letter, add s do not use s for plurals of numbers or multiple letter combinations bullets associated press style is. But your other two examples involve possessives of plural not singular nouns ending in s, so the cited rule doesnt apply to them. Usually a plural noun taking plural verbs and pronouns. The family were sitting down, scratching their heads. British and american style guides tend to agree that collective nouns like audience, committee, and data can be construed as either singular or plural, according to whether the word is perceived as a unit or as individual items. We know journalists are busy, and it can be difficult to keep up with recent ap stylebook changes. Mar 25, 2017 on saturday, the associated press announced multiple changes regarding the use of gendered and genderneutral pronouns. How do i make a singular proper name ending in es plural. The new edition includes 200 new and updated entries. College, its faculty, and staff, a consistent style and coherent message matter.
In bre, staff is used as both a singular and a plural for purposes of agreement, although plural is certainly more popular. Normally staff is a collective taking a singular verb. Ap stylebook embraces they as singular, genderneutral. Among the updates to the journalism reference guide is new guidance on the limited use of they as a singular, genderneutral pronoun. Before lunch is considered the best time for the editorial staff to meet. However, you can use staffs as a thirdperson singular verb. Although people often use they, them, or their as singular pronouns when speaking, writing still tends to treat these words as plural. When we refer to a staff or a bunch, how do we decide on verb. It points out that team names typically take plural verbs.
Jun 05, 2017 the key question is whether to treat collective nouns as singular or plural. American speakers prefer to make collective nouns singular and emphasize the individual members of a group by adding something plural. The majority of email users are upset about the increase in spam. In ap style, governor is always abbreviated and capitalized when it is part of a formal titleeven inside quotations. Ap stylebook plurals follow these guidelines in forming and using plural words. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. The staff are working on many projects for the holiday party. In british english staff sense 1 can be singular a staff of ten a group of ten people or plural. Secondary usage is the chicago manual of style, 16th ed. The associated press stylebook, arguably the foremost arbiter of grammar and word choice in journalism, has added an entry for they as a singular, genderneutral pronoun in its latest edition. The associated press stylebook does agree with you, though, that the. Staff definition for englishlanguage learners from. Here are some examples with singular from the oxford english corpus since the newspaper staff is inundated with these letters everyday, they have no choice. Ap stylebook entry on collective nouns says band names take plural verbs.
Some other examples of collective nouns are board, committee, company, organization, department, and faculty. It can be even more confusing because in british usage think of our reader in toronto the tendency is to make all these collective nouns plural. Sep 15, 2016 if possession is ninetenths of the law, just imagine how important correctly signifying it in your writing is. See, there was a reason for me to talk about the beatles. Ap style nationalities and races ap style holds that the proper names of nationalities, peoples, races, tribes, etc. Ap stylebook 2016 updates include normcore, kombucha and. Are names of sports teams and bands singular, or plural. The staff is unanimously opposed to the deans recommendation. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. Here are some tips for using headlinestyle capitalization. The american medical associations ama manual of style also now endorses they for when rewriting the sentence as a plural would be awkward or unclear. The associated press stylebook, as noted, is strict about using hyphens. Jane straus is the author of the blue book of grammar and punctuation and developer of.
For singular proper names ending in s sounds such as x, ce, and z, use s for plurals of a single letter, add s do not use s for plurals of numbers or multiple letter combinations bullets associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Although a jury, like all collective nouns, is a group of individuals, the better practice is to treat collective nouns as singular and to write the jury is, as well as the council decides, the panel hears, and so on. Sometimes used with a singular verb when referring to media as a monolithic group. If the collective noun is meant to highlight the actions of discrete individuals who are all doing different things, use the plural verb. The associated press stylebook and the wall street journals internal stylebook takes hq as a singular noun. Since the newspaper staff is inundated with these letters everyday, they have no choice but to publish at least some of them. Sep 02, 2008 todays topic is collective nouns, nouns that describe a group, such as family, orchestra, and board. People is not a collective noun like team or staff. Collecting phrases like a number of or a pair of can make it hard to choose between is and are. Staff, a collective noun, is acting as a single unit in this sentence. Its also the day that the 2016 associated press stylebook comes out. If youre required to follow ap style, use aps guidance, which is to treat data as singular in nonscientific contexts and plural in scientific contexts.
Yet even among scientists, the plural may be in decline, as cognitive scientist steven pinker notes in his. Rules by ap stylebook, bad grammargood punctuation. Sometimes they take a singular verb, but other times they take a plural verb. The associated press stylebook and the chicago manual of style. Ap now suggests using a persons name in place of a pronoun or rewording sentences to avoid pronoun use altogether. One such tool is the collective noun, a noun that is singular in form but.
For example, i was editing a book where a person received a gift of a pair of jimmy choo shoes. As noted in the sixth edition of the publication manual p. Ensure the subject agrees with the verb in number singular or plural and in. This year, there are extensive changes in the racerelated entries. In american english, most collective nouns are considered a singular term, so use a singular verb. Ap accepting they as a singular pronoun in limited cases is. Staff definition is a long stick carried in the hand for support in walking. The thunder lost, and they went home determined not to let that happen again. The sense in a particular sentence is conveyed by the use of a singular or plural verb. This deviates from ap style, which uses sentencestyle capitalization.
Another character exclaimed, you could miss my birthday too if it means a pair of jimmys. The associated press stylebook says media is sometimes used with a singular verb when referring to media as a monolithic group. Our blog subject and verb agreement with collective nouns states, fractions and percentages, like team and staff, can be either singular or plural depending on. Dec 23, 2015 agenda plural in origin, but singular in use. We have strong opinions on whether media and data are. The news came during the ap s session at the american copy editors societys. The change is in effect online and will be in the print edition of the 2017 ap stylebook on may 31. The chicago manual of style provides no guidance about the issue, but the associated press stylebook provides a definitive answer. The associated press stylebook says it is opening the door to use of the singular they. Todays topic is collective nouns, nouns that describe a group, such as family, orchestra, and board. The associated press stylebook classifies data as a plural noun, normally taking plural verbs and pronouns. Subject and verb agreement with collective nouns grammar.
Do music groups take singular verbs, as do collective nouns, or plural verbs, as with sports teams. Paula foke, lead editor of the ap stylebook, elaborated on the decision at the american copy editors society conference on friday. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers. Ap stylebook embraces they as singular, genderneutral pronoun. Ap style for first time allows use of they as singular pronoun. Mar 27, 2017 among the updates to the journalism reference guide is new guidance on the limited use of they as a singular, genderneutral pronoun.
May 24, 2016 majority is one of those words that can be either singular or plural. Spell out one through nine, then go to figures for 10 and up. Do music groups take singular verbs, as do collective nouns, or plural verbs, as with. When each part of a plural subject possesses something individually, the thing possessed must generally be in the plural as well.
The associated press stylebook it can be overwhelming at first, but please see below for the essentials. The correct word is staff if you are referring to a group of people within an organisation. First reference for spelling and usage is websters new world college dictionary, fourth edition. The ap stylebook now allows writers to use they as a singular pronoun when rewriting the sentence as plural would be overly awkward or clumsy. An additional note indicates that some words, such as data, that are plural in form become collective nouns and take singular verbs when the group or quantity is. The style also allows writers to pair they with everyone in similar situations. Colleen newvine, product manager for the ap stylebook, said people dont have to use they as singular but if you find it best, its allowed. For singular proper names ending in s, use only an apostrophe. Here are some examples with singular from the oxford english corpus. Ap, after all, does not hyphenate french canadians i.
Ap style nationalities and races writing explained. Th associated press stylebook sets the tone and conventions for news media across the united states and around the world. Grammar tip staff is or staff are ontario training. Which verb do you use when youre talking about a number of people. Use singular or plural verbs and pronouns depending on the sense. And using the ie form of plural with a y would look odd imo. Separate entries in this book give plurals for troublesome words and guidance on whether certain words should be used with singular or plural verbs and pronouns. The ap stylebook and briefing on media law is an essential handbook for all writers and editors. Plural nouns take plural verbs, so data should be followed by a plural verb. Ap definitive source making a case for a singular they. Staff is a countable noun, though its a collective noun, which can cause some confusion. But ap is simply updating its style to reflect modern usage, and modern usage changes, like it or not. Subject and verb agreement with collective nouns grammar blog. Associated press changes style on race, gender bias.
So, while its always correct to use media as a plural, singular media has gained widespread acceptance. If you mean the word to describe a collection of individuals, then the word should be treated as plural. An apostrophe is not quite right since it is not possessive. The trick with these words is that when the group is acting in harmony, you must use the singular form of the verb. Staff definition for englishlanguage learners from merriam. Collecting the truth about collective nouns grammar and. Note that team and the name of the school are singular nouns. Ap stylebook 2016 updates include normcore, kombucha and emoji plural. Mar 28, 2017 the associated press says the use of they as a singular or genderneutral pronoun is acceptable in limited cases. Ap style nationalities and races home ap style ap style nationalities and races ap style holds that the proper names of nationalities, peoples, races, tribes, etc. A new stylebook entry, which was announced thursday as part of the aps session at the 21st national conference of aces. The media has closely followed the news story since last month.
Each woman possesses one nose, so, logically, two women possess two noses. On one hand, number is singular, which calls for is. Oct 25, 2016 some style guides form the possessive of all words ending in s whether singular or plural with an apostrophe only descartes philosophy etta james singing that business tax returns. Definition of staff written for english language learners from the merriamwebster learners dictionary with audio pronunciations, usage examples, and countnoncount noun labels. The ap stylebook is the definitive resource for journalists and a musthave reference for writers, editors, students and professionals. To help clear up any confusion regarding the proper use of these terms, i list examples of. However, you might advocate for setting differing local rules or an exception for the job at hand. This listing is a just a few highlights for ap style, but you need to make sure you have the most current version for quick reference. Here is the general guideline when writing out the title of governor in ap style ap style governor. The ap stylebooks new rules on genderneutral pronouns are a. Collective nouns give us fits because they seem to be both singular and plural.
This style guide is based primarily on the associated press stylebook. The associated press stylebook classifies data as a plural noun, normally taking plural verbs. Mar 24, 2017 the associated press stylebook says it is opening the door to use of the singular they. The chicago manual of style 16th is among the hedgers, noting that data is now commonly treated as a mass noun and coupled with a singular verb but that in formal writing and always in the sciences, use data as a plural.
The ap stylebook, in an entry added in march 2017, suggests that repeating a persons name or rewording is preferable to using the epicene pronoun, but it allows for they with explanation. If the collective noun staff is acting as a single unit, use the singular verb. Singular they continues to be the focus of language change. In north american english staff senses 1 and 2 can only be singular. The ap stylebook is the manual of choice for university of daytons external communications magazines, newsletters, news releases, marketing materials, websites, advertising and social media, among others. Staff as a collective noun meaning a body of people takes either a singular or plural verb depends on whether youre thinking of the body as a unit. It provides fundamental guidelines for spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style. So weve done the work for you, rounding up a few of the recent significant and just plain interesting updates to the ap stylebook. Once the plural forms of datum and medium, data and media have transformed into mass nouns. Editorial style guide communications lafayette college.
For questions not covered by this book, use the plural that websters new world college dictionary lists as most. This means that people is the object of the preposition. The ap stylebook now includes they as a singular, gender. The singular, genderneutral they added to the ap stylebook. In the above sentence, the prepositional phrase is in four people. We use headlinestyle capitalization, also called title case, which means the main words are capitalized and the less important words are lowercased in titles and headings. The obama administration told public schools to grant bathroom access even if a students gender identity isnt whats in their record. Media is the biggest force in a presidential campaign. All the staff were shocked by the deans recommendation. If possession is ninetenths of the law, just imagine how important correctly signifying it in your writing is. Here is the general guideline when writing out the title of governor in ap style. University name and common rules the importance of a unified style the ua little rock office of communications and marketing follows the ap stylebook for the vast majority of projects we are charged with handling, whether a press release, a brochure, or web content. Here is how the associated press stylebook 2002 lays out the rule you refer to in your question. Aug 10, 2010 percentages are expressed in numerals except when they occur at the beginning of a sentence.
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