I see this crap all the time on Wikipedia (especially in reference to a band) and when reading articles originating from other countries. Just as an example here's the one I saw tonight:












It's one single tavern. Why are they using the plural form? Because multiple people work there?














Yes I know multiple people make up the band, but it seems wrong and OCD/over analyzing the proper noun it is in reference to. But I see them apply it to things like Nine Inch Nails, and Nine Inch Nails IS one person.





Does this drive anybody else up the wall?

I know there has to be some other grammar nazis out there that find this irritating. Of course they'll say we're wrong since they came up with the damn language.

Well, the second example isn't incorrect, it's just one school of thought in regards to identifying groups.  I see that a lot, and not just with British stuff.

It is irritating.  Maybe it has something to do with Coldplay being a group of people?  Or, maybe we Americans just bastardized English more?

After saving their asses for the past 90 years or so, they should just give up the whole "English" thing and call it "American" from now on.

when I got my concealed weapons permit, it was just that, it has since been changed to concealed pistol permit, see the difference?
before i was entitled to multiple weapons now just one pistol.

The rule they seem to follow is:

-If it is an organization as opposed to a single person identifiable by name, use the plural pronoun.

Kinda makes sense, and at least is consistent.  It still sounds weird to me though

It's that way for the same reason Brits and Canadians use colourful words like, whinge and through instead of using colorful words like whine and thru.  They ain't done figered out that us 'Mericans has evolved  their bastard devolved latin and gutter german excuse of a mash up language into something more better and less dumber and ghey sounding.

Either that or they see an organization as a group of individual entities that should be referred to in the plural (The United States are) rather than in the more approapriate (meaning "Our"(American that is)) way of seeing an organization as a single entity regardles of how may sub entities comprise it (The United States is). From what I hear though, before the civil war we were were still kind of euro faggy and thought of ourselves as a collection of independant states and used "the United States are".  After we killed enough of ourselves we started seeing ourselves as "the United States is."

Unfortunately this breaks down when one discusses the Borg.  If an individual is a Borg and the colective is the Borg do you say the Borg is or the Borg are.  If it's one Borg about the assimilate you, do you yell, "The Borg is going to assimilate me!" or "TheBorg are going to assimilate me!"  Either way works I guess but I get stumped though when it comes time for a gang assimilation.  If you hear an American yell, "The Borg is going to assimilate me!" you can't tell if you are going to be facing one Borg or a whole metric butload of Borg if you decide to come to the rescue.

Look up "collective nouns." We approach them one way, the Brits approach them another.