REDUX: Re: On Richard Jensen's Examples....as an Example of the Current General Discussion.

[Richard Jensen]

Let's get back to the matter that got this started.  As I recall, the
original question had to do with whether or not a family name, e.g.,
Fagaceae, should be accompanied by a singular or plural verb.

First, I contend that a family name is, in English usage, a collective
noun.  Second, I contend that collective nouns may take either singular
or plural verbs, depending upon the context.

Given the above, then I may write, and be grammatically correct in doing
so, the two following sentences:

    "Fagaceae is characterized by the following characters:..."

    "Fagaceae are found in North America, South America, Europe and
Asia."

In the former, the Fagaceae is being referred to as a single entity
(Fagaceae as a family-level taxon); in the latter, various members of
the Fagaceae are referred to ("Some Fagaceae are found...").  I see this
as no different from the following:

    "The committee is qualified to decide the question."

    "The committee are not all qualified to decide the question."

The first refers to the committee as a whole, while the latter refers
only to particular members of the committee.  This is clearly analogous
to my examples about Fagaceae.

In current English writing, the number of a noun in its original form is
not considered, in and of itself, the deciding criterion for the verb it
should be used with.  Many editors will accept such constructions as
"agenda is...;"  even "data is..." is accepted by (and recommended by)
some editors.

Cheers,
Dick Jensen

--
Richard J. Jensen              TEL: 219-284-4674
Department of Biology      FAX: 219-284-4716
Saint Mary's College         E-mail: rjensen at saintmarys.edu
Notre Dame, IN  46556     http://www.saintmarys.edu/~rjensen