Paul Stenquist wrote: > British English treats company names as plurals. American English > treats them as singular. The Brit system works better when it comes > to pronouns. It's hard to think of Mercedes-Benz or AIG as an "it."
Certainly not. A company IS an "it." It is a business entity. > The plural pronoun, "they," sounds correct to most ears. However, if > one uses the plural verb and says "Mercedes-Benz are introducing > another new model in the fall," it sounds awkward to the American ear > but not to the Brits. It's just another transatlantic difference. Perhaps you might think of it this way (see bracketed additions): > Americans routinely use a plural pronoun and a singular verb, as in > "[The company known as] Mercedes-Benz is introducing a new model in > the fall. They [the people who run the company] expect it > to sell very well." With the inclusion of the bracketed clarification, it makes perfect grammatical sense. > Bad, but it's just another example of how the > colonists have corrupted the language. You're entitled any any opinion you feel comfortable with, whether correct or not. > I don't know which way the Canadians swing on that number. > Paul keith whaley -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
