This is the real problem with the internet. People don't check the
original post and respond to things out of context. The original quote
was, "The tomcat docs and this mailing list has been..." The grammar was
incorrect and the sentence should have been, "The tomcat docs and this
mailing list have been..."
Signal to noise goes down.
At 06:34 PM 10/26/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Rob Bryant wrote:
> > The subject, in this case "list," is singular: one _list_. So the correct
> > conjugation of the verb "to have" is "the list has." His (Steven's) usage
> > was correct, your correction was incorrect.
>
>the internet. my favorite to witness grammar debates, unsolicited
>chastisement, and off-topic hilarity.
>
>um, when referring to a singular _group_, grammarians have differed on
>what is correct subject-verb agreement. the english language is
>ambiguous on this point. either "the list has" or "the list have" is
>acceptable when "list" refers to a group. both uses have their
>authoritative literary proponents. subtle shadings of meaning may be
>expressed by one or the other. that is, a group may act in concert, or a
>group may act as a set of somewhat autonomous individuals. thus, both
>corrections are incorrect as hard and fast rules of english grammar.
>
>as you were.
>
>luv, johnny
