0
Shouldn't it be
The Albiceleste captain looked embarrassed when he was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player after his country was beaten 1-0 in the final by Germany.
instead of
The Albiceleste captain looked embarrassed when he was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player after his country were beaten 1-0 in the final by Germany.
which is how it is in this link
Amit Joki
Posted 2014-08-30T11:27:28.990
Reputation: 475
2
In American English, collective nouns are treated as singular; in British English, as plurals.
American: The Acme Widgets company is running a sale on the new Widget 100.
British: The Acme Widgets company are running a sale on the new Widget 100.
Tᴚoɯɐuo
Posted 2014-08-30T11:27:28.990
Reputation: 116 610
0
Yes, sometimes people might say "India are at 233 at the end of the second day", but in this case, the subject is not a country name (which can be taken as collective in some cases), but "his country", so singular is appropriate.
I think most native listeners would hear "his country were beaten" as jarring, and incorrect. It sounds incorrect to my ear, despite the fact that "India are at 233" etc. sounds fine.
Alistair
Posted 2014-08-30T11:27:28.990
Reputation: 96
-1
It seems you are an Indian. If so, I'll try explaining this by taking cricket's example.
When we talk about the team that comprise 11 Indian players, we generally put the plural verb are.
So,
India are on 233 at the end of the day.
In sports, mentioning country with plural verb is quite common. That said, "....after his country were beaten..." is fine.
Maulik V
Posted 2014-08-30T11:27:28.990
Reputation: 66 188
Of course I'm an Indian. But AFAIK collective nouns take singular verb form and also it sounds better than plural version... don't you think? – Amit Joki – 2014-08-30T11:46:32.650
certainly but that's how it is. The practice is quite recent I guess. I don't remember *India are on X run* as a kid. And, I've grown up watching the game. :) – Maulik V – 2014-08-30T11:59:54.163
I don't know where IE speakers in general stand on this issue, but the primary distinction is that Americans tend to stick with the strictly "word-based" position (it's *a* country, so it takes a singular verb form). Brits are more inclined to take the semantics into account (since there are *many* people in a country, sports team, family, etc., it's not unreasonable to use a plural verb form). But either way it's established idiomatic preference, not a matter of correct/incorrect grammar as such. – FumbleFingers Reinstate Monica – 2014-08-30T17:39:57.707
In BrE, collective nouns are usually treated notionally, taking singular or plural agreement depending on how the speaker is thinking of them rather than based on their grammatical form. So you'll find that they do not always take plural agreement, even in BrE, although in many cases plural would be the normal choice. – snailplane – 2014-09-14T21:25:39.627