Notional agreement

Notional agreement is to be found in the following cases:

1. In modern English agreement there may be a conflict between form and meaning. It refers first of all to subjects expressed by nouns of multitude, which may denote plurality being singular in form. In such cases the principle of grammatical agreement is not observed and there appears the so-called notional agreement, when the choice of the number is based on the fact whether the group of beings is considered as one whole or, as a collection of individuals taken separately (as discrete ones).

Thus the nouns of multitude (band, board, crew, committee, crowd, company, clergy, cattle, family, gang, group, guard, gentry, infantry, jury, militia, police, poultry, team) may have both a plural verb-predicate and a singular one depending on what is meant - a single undivided body or a group of separate individuals:

A new government has been formed.

The government have asked me to go, so I am leaving now.

How are your family? Our family has always been a very happy one.

The police is already informed. I don’t know what the police are doing.

The jury decides whether the accused is guilty or not.

While the jury were out, some of the public went out for a breath of fresh air.

2. Subjects expressed by nouns denoting measure, weight, time, etc., have a singular verb-predicate when the statement is made about the whole amount, not about the discrete units:

Ten years is a long time. Another five minutes goes by.

3. Notional agreement is also observed with subjects expressed by word-groups including nouns of quantity: a/the number of..., a/the majority of..., (a) part of..., the bulk of..., a variety of.... These admit of either a singular or a plural verb-predicate:

The number (количество) of pages in this book isn’t large.

It was Sunday and a number (многие) of people were walking about.

4. Subjects expressed by such invariable plural nouns as goods (товар, товары), contents (содержание, содержимое), riches (богатство, богатства), clothes (одежда), wages (зарплата), eaves (карниз крыши) have a plural verb:

His wages were only 15 shillings a week.

I asked her what the contents were about.

His clothes were shabby. The goods were delivered on time.

5. Subjects expressed by such invariable singular nouns as hair, money, gate, information (сведения), funeral (похороны), progress (успехи), advice have a singular verb-predicate. These are called “singularia tantum” “всегда единственное число», as they have no plural:

Her hair is beautiful. The money is mine. The gate is open.

6. Subjects expressed by invariable nouns ending in -s (“pluralia tantum” «всегда множественное число») and denoting an indivisible notion or thing have a singular verb-predicate: measles (корь), mumps (свинка), billiards, dominoes, linguistics, economics, news, headquarters (штаб), works (завод):

No news is good news.

The new works that has been built in our district is very large.

Though nouns in -ics which are names of sciences and other abstract notions have a singular agreement when used in their abstract sense; they may have a plural verb-predicate when denoting qualities, practical applications, different activities, etc. (ethics – “moral rules”, gymnastics – “physical exercises”). Thus these nouns may be followed by either a singular or a plural verb:

Statistics is a rather modern branch of mathematics. (a branch of science)

Statistics on this subject are available. collected (numbers, figures representing facts)

Tactics is one of the subjects studied in military academies. (the art of arranging military forces for battle)

Your tactics are obvious. Please, don’t insult my intelligence.(methods)

Politics is a risky profession.( a profession)

Politics have always interested me. What are your politics? (political affairs, political ideas)

Ceramics is my hobby. ( the art of making bricks, pots, etc.)

Where he lives isn’t the provinces as far as ceramics are concerned, it’s the metropolis. (articles produced in this way)

7. Subjects expressed by substantivized adjectives denoting groups of people (the blind, the dumb and deaf, the eminent, the mute, the old, the poor, the rich, etc.) always take the plural verb-predicate:

He did not look an important personage, but the eminent rarely do.