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Subject:Re: is/are From:Matt Ion <soundy -at- MAIL -dot- BC -dot- ROGERS -dot- WAVE -dot- CA> Date:Thu, 20 Nov 1997 05:40:21 -0800
On Wed, 19 Nov 1997 14:33:46 +0000, Liam Wickham wrote:
>If the emphasis is on the members
>of the unit, a plural verb is more natural: 'A group of children were
>running around.'
An excellent example of the distinction between using singular or plural
support for a noun. "A group of children WAS running around" conjures
images from a Scooby Doo cartoon: several children (and a dog :-) bunched
together, moving as a single unit.
Your friend and mine,
Matt
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