In article <CaqdnUs0ta3clX_anZ2dnUVZ8vmdnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
Martin Sondergaard <donotemailme@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Consider these two sentences:
>
> A group of men played with the dogs. They were energetic.
>
> The word "they" may possibly refer to "the group of men",
> not to the dogs.
>
> This seems illogical, because "A group" is single,
> it is not plural, so "they" cannot refer to it.
> So is the phrase "A group of men" a special sort of plural,
> so that "they" can be applied to it?
In this case, "they" doesn't refer to the "group", which is the unit
of aggregation, but to the individual "men" comprising the group.
> Can the phrase "a group of men" be sometimes treated
> as singular, and sometimes as plural?
Probably. On this issue, it might be better to think about present-tense
verb usage (which in the 3rd person varies based on subject number) rather
than postcedent (?) pronouns:
"A group of men is playing with the dogs." or "A group of men are playing
with the dogs."?
> Is there a category of similar phrases,
> called by a term known to linguists,
> which have this property of being sometimes singular
> and sometimes plural?
I don't know, but would be interested to find out.
Cheers
Tony
--
Tony Mountifield
Work: tony@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- http://www.softins.co.uk
Play: tony@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- http://tony.mountifield.org
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