Is it IS or is it ARE?

[anotheoldgit]

I notice a trend lately to replace the word 'ARE' by the world 'IS'.

For example I read the following in a newspaper report:-
' We can conffirm that a group of Western tourists 'IS' missing in eastern Ethiopia '.

Is this correct or should it be 'Are' missing?

[kempie]

A group is a single item.

A group IS missing.
Western Tourists ARE missing.

[jenstar]

Yes, it's correct, even though it sounds stupid. It's just another example of the stilted usage that happens when tedious grammatical pedants are allowed to get their way.

[Mammar]

It's no good
I'm gonna have to go and buy "Eats Shoots and Leaves"

[anotheoldgit]

Thanks for your answers but I would have thought a group of Western tourists is plural hence the S on tourist, therefore it should be ARE missing. And a Western tourist (singular) IS missing.

[kempie]

One group is missing.
Two groups are missing.

Group = single entity made up of multiple constituent parts.

A car is also made up of many parts (engine, doors, seats, etc.) yet you would not expect to say "a car are a convenient form of transport".

[Mikeyd2]

Remember the tag-line for Hitchcock's film ....."The Birds" is coming ......

Nothing to do with the above , but ....

[Quizmonster]

It's perfectly straightforward, Anotheoldgit...
"In British English collective nouns may be correctly followed by a singular or a plural verb. In American English it is customary for a singular verb to be used with collective nouns." (Emphasis mine.)
These aren't my words but those of Fowler's Modern English Usage, the 'bible' of current usage.
It is quite correct to use 'is' here, but it'd be equally correct to use 'are'!

And there is STILL no pedantry whatsoever involved, Jenstar...only the language as it is actually spoken!

[Mammar]

Well I for one am not about to argue with the Quizmonster but I would what he would choose to use?

[Quizmonster]

Mammar, to be honest, I use either approach just "as the spirit moves me". I'd be just as likely to say, "The jury retires to consider its verdict later today" as "The jury retire to consider their verdict later today."
This is precisely the sort of freedom we have now, compared with the hidebound pedantry that sought to control us so strictly in the past. Cheers

[kempie]

But what if a singular determiner has been used...?

[Quizmonster]

Kempie, I'd still feel free to use 'is' or 'are'...and 'a car' may well be a collection of parts but the word 'car' itself isn't a collective noun.

[kempie]

I know "car" isn't a collective noun. I used it as an example of a single object requiring singular sentence construction.

Collective nouns are a device to group things into a single unit.

Examples of 'usual' sentence construction:

A {blank} is...
The {blank/s} is or are... (depending on content/context)

I find it 'unusual' to have

A {blank/s} are...

[saxy_jag]

I'm with Kempie on this all the way (and I used to be a 'group are' person, by the way, until a Doctor of English pointed out my mistake).

-My collection is very valuable
-The fleet is ready to depart.
-The new suite is to be delivered this afternoon.

I wouldn't use 'are' for any of those, as they're all collective nouns. A collection, a fleet and a suite are single groups of things.

[Quizmonster]

Well, we'll just have to go our separate ways then. Personally, I'm happy to be going on mine in company with Fowler's rather than a single Doctor of English. (One gains a doctorate in English by specialising in a single, minute aspect of the subject with a title such as Bird Imagery in Shakespeare's Later Plays. The degree in itself is no indication that the holder has a wider knowledge of the subject generally than someone with a Master's or even a basic Bachelor's degree.)
I wouldn't use 'are' with 'collection' or 'suite' either, but I might easily say "The Ministry of Defence are trying their best to meet Britain's obligations abroad", despite the fact that 'ministry' is clearly singular.
Similarly, I might point to a photo of Man U next to one of West Ham and say, "This team are playing well and that team are playing badly"...despite the fact that 'this' and 'that' are obviously singular, too.
And there I, at least, will leave it.

[rja211077]

Each to their own, Quizzie, and I respect the authority of Fowlers, but I too would never use 'the team are'.

I would, however, use 'Liverpool are playing well' when referring to the team (contrary to our friends across the pond who would use 'is'). But in reference to the club, e.g. in a business sense, I would use 'Liverpool is one of the most successful English football clubs'

Confusing huh? I think the BBC perhaps puts it best
http://www.bbctraining.com/pdfs/newsstyleguide .pdf

go to page 31

[Phil7]

So... Are the wages of sin, death?
or... Is death the wages of sin? ???

[Peter Pedant]

the verb in a sentence agrees with the subject

the subject of ...'a group of tourists is.....

is group and so the verb should be singular

Another, because tourists comes before "is"
you think it shoul be "are"

This is called number attraction

....and it occurs in NT Greek as well. St Paul I think, so you are in good company