Q&A - P4 English

[cl82]

Thanks Ridcully, for the detailed answer!

[janicelhl]

can someone help me to answer the question below:

The Tan family is/are going to decorate their house for the coming Chinese New Year.

[ridcully]

janicelhl:

can someone help me to answer the question below:

The Tan family is/are going to decorate their house for the coming Chinese New Year.

'Family' is a collective noun. A collective noun has duality about it: It is a group comprising several members. Consequently, if you want to emphasise the family as a single unit acting in unison, you use a singular verb; if you want to emphasise the members acting individually, you use a plural verb.

Looking at your sentence, the Tan family will decorate the house acting in unison. Therefore, I am strongly tempted to use the singular verb 'is'. However, your sentence has the possessive 'their' which is plural. Thus, for the sake of consistency I would go for the plural verb 'are'.

Rgds
R

[janicelhl]

ridcully:

janicelhl:

can someone help me to answer the question below:

The Tan family is/are going to decorate their house for the coming Chinese New Year.

'Family' is a collective noun. A collective noun has duality about it: It is a group comprising several members. Consequently, if you want to emphasise the family as a single unit acting in unison, you use a singular verb; if you want to emphasise the members acting individually, you use a plural verb.

Looking at your sentence, the Tan family will decorate the house acting in unison. Therefore, I am strongly tempted to use the singular verb 'is'. However, your sentence has the possessive 'their' which is plural. Thus, for the sake of consistency I would go for the plural verb 'are'.

Rgds
R

Thank you for your explanation. How about this sentence:

My family is/are going to visit our grandparents next week. In this case, do we still use \"are\"? cos' there is a possessive \"our\". How can I explain to my boy?

[ridcully]

[quote]
Thank you for your explanation. How about this sentence:

My family is/are going to visit our grandparents next week. In this case, do we still use \"are\"? cos' there is a possessive \"our\". How can I explain to my boy?[/quote]You explain to your boy that the sentence is mangled.

It should be:

My family and I are going to visit our grandparents next week.

'My family and I' can be replaced with 'We' which is consistent with 'our'.

Personally, I find it frustrating that assessment books from certain bookshops, and worksheets from many schools, are frequently riddled with errors in both the questions and the answers. I feel for parents trying to help their kids when the source material is unsound.

Rgds
R

[teh_oh]

ridcully:

janicelhl:

can someone help me to answer the question below:

The Tan family is/are going to decorate their house for the coming Chinese New Year.

'Family' is a collective noun. A collective noun has duality about it: It is a group comprising several members. Consequently, if you want to emphasise the family as a single unit acting in unison, you use a singular verb; if you want to emphasise the members acting individually, you use a plural verb.

Looking at your sentence, the Tan family will decorate the house acting in unison. Therefore, I am strongly tempted to use the singular verb 'is'. However, your sentence has the possessive 'their' which is plural. Thus, for the sake of consistency I would go for the plural verb 'are'.

Rgds
R

Hi R,
In the case of
'The Tan family is/are going for a trip next week'.
Answer should be 'is', right?
Thanks.

[janicelhl]

Thank you.

[ridcully]

teh_oh:

Hi R,

In the case of
'The Tan family is/are going for a trip next week'.
Answer should be 'is', right?
Thanks.

Yes. We are thinking of the family as acting in unison as one entity; therefore, 'is' is correct.

Rgds
R

[teh_oh]

ridcully:

teh_oh:

Hi R,

In the case of
'The Tan family is/are going for a trip next week'.
Answer should be 'is', right?
Thanks.

Yes. We are thinking of the family as acting in unison as one entity; therefore, 'is' is correct.

Rgds
R

:thankyou: once again, R.

[soyabean]

Is it alright for school teachers if our kids, when describing the scene in the picture, use phrases like


'in the foreground, there are two girls...'
'in the background, there are two boys...'

???

Thanks!!