Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. English: 3rd person singular s

English: 3rd person singular s

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
c++visual-studioquestiondiscussion
48 Posts 32 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • F Forogar

    Clearly you speak in the English style, not American colonial, as your correct spelling of "colour" indicates.

    - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

    D Offline
    D Offline
    DRHuff
    wrote on last edited by
    #21

    I was hoping somebody would catch that. Neighbour too.

    I'm pretty sure I would not like to live in a world in which I would never be offended. I am absolutely certain I don't want to live in a world in which you would never be offended. Freedom doesn't mean the absence of things you don't like. Dave

    F 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • D DRHuff

      I was hoping somebody would catch that. Neighbour too.

      I'm pretty sure I would not like to live in a world in which I would never be offended. I am absolutely certain I don't want to live in a world in which you would never be offended. Freedom doesn't mean the absence of things you don't like. Dave

      F Offline
      F Offline
      Forogar
      wrote on last edited by
      #22

      I am so used to seeing "neighbour" spelled correctly that I didn't notice it as unusual. The only reason I noticed "colour" was that in C# I am constantly setting up Color objects and calling them "colour" something so I get reminded of the deficient US spelling almost every day!

      - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

      F 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • F Forogar

        I am so used to seeing "neighbour" spelled correctly that I didn't notice it as unusual. The only reason I noticed "colour" was that in C# I am constantly setting up Color objects and calling them "colour" something so I get reminded of the deficient US spelling almost every day!

        - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

        F Offline
        F Offline
        Foothill
        wrote on last edited by
        #23

        I think you mean efficient, not deficient :-\

        if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); }

        G F 2 Replies Last reply
        0
        • K kalberts

          Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

          R Offline
          R Offline
          Ravi Bhavnani
          wrote on last edited by
          #24

          Singular, because when you say "Texas Instruments makes...", you really mean "The company 'Texas Instruments' makes...". /ravi

          My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • K kalberts

            Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

            K Offline
            K Offline
            Kirill Illenseer
            wrote on last edited by
            #25

            I come to rever to companies as "they". That's not only the third-preson plural pronoun, that's also the third-person singular gender-agnostic pronoun. And the second role fits companies rather well. That results in the omission of the S.

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • K kalberts

              Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

              J Offline
              J Offline
              jsc42
              wrote on last edited by
              #26

              I haven't read all of the responses yet, so I apologise if this is a repeat of someone else's response. In America, corporations are plural entities; in the UK they are singular. It does not matter whether their name ends in an 's' or not. So: IBM make electronic equipment in America; but Dyson makes electronic equipment in the UK. Similarly: The US government are based in Washington DC; but the UK government is based in London.

              G 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • K kalberts

                Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

                D Offline
                D Offline
                dougwoodrow
                wrote on last edited by
                #27

                Companies are collective nouns; the simple solution is to always treat them as plural. grammaticality - Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange[^] BBC World Service | Learning English | Learn it[^]

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • P PeejayAdams

                  This is a tricky one because I think the English get it wrong. If we were talking about a cricket match, an Englishman might say "England need another 200 runs" where an Aussie would be more likely to say "England needs another 200 runs." Given that England in this context is a singular entity, the Australian version is logically correct but it sounds wrong to English ears. Ultimately, I guess usage triumphs over rules when it comes to grammar and usage is never going to be standard across the Anglophone world.

                  98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.

                  X Offline
                  X Offline
                  xiecsuk
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #28

                  We would also, and often do, say "Australia need another 200" runs. In this case "Australia " and "England" are collective nouns, and are therefore plural.

                  P 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • X xiecsuk

                    We would also, and often do, say "Australia need another 200" runs. In this case "Australia " and "England" are collective nouns, and are therefore plural.

                    P Offline
                    P Offline
                    PeejayAdams
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #29

                    There's a definite difference, though, between the way that English and Aussie commentators phrase it. I'll frequently hear the "Team A needs Z runs" construct from Aussies but English commentators always say "need".

                    98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.

                    X 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • P PeejayAdams

                      There's a definite difference, though, between the way that English and Aussie commentators phrase it. I'll frequently hear the "Team A needs Z runs" construct from Aussies but English commentators always say "need".

                      98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.

                      X Offline
                      X Offline
                      xiecsuk
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #30

                      But surely, as we invented the language, we must be right. I keep telling my granddaughters, who live in Melbourne, not to start talking like the Aussies, but to be true to their heritage. It doesn't seem to have worked though.

                      P 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • X xiecsuk

                        But surely, as we invented the language, we must be right. I keep telling my granddaughters, who live in Melbourne, not to start talking like the Aussies, but to be true to their heritage. It doesn't seem to have worked though.

                        P Offline
                        P Offline
                        PeejayAdams
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #31

                        On the whole, I'm a firm advocate of speaking [English as she is spoke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English\_As\_She\_Is\_Spoke) by the English, but I do think that the Aussies have a technical point on this one. "Australia" in this contact collectively refers to a collective group of ball-tamperers and should really be 3rd person singular rather than plural. On the other hand, I think that "The Beatles was fab" would sound rather ridiculous, so maybe the use of the plural should be seen as a triumph of English pragmatism over excessively logical grammar.

                        98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • K kalberts

                          Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

                          E Offline
                          E Offline
                          englebart
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #32

                          I go with "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment" You can imagine an implied noun of: "Texas Instruments Corporation makes electronic equipment" To consider: "Texas Instruments' child corporations make electronic equipment" How about this one: "Texas' instruments make beautiful music" or would it be "Texas's instruments make beautiful music" ?

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • K kalberts

                            Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

                            J Offline
                            J Offline
                            Joop Eggen
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #33

                            Take "Twelve Roses is a nice book" - the name/title of something may be plural, but that does not make the something plural. One should read "The company 'Texas Instruments' makes ..."

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • K kalberts

                              Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

                              B Offline
                              B Offline
                              Bob1000
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #34

                              If everyone understands what is written (or said) then its correct. That's English. Altough "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment" sounds a lot smoother to the ears than "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" which grates on the auditory nerves!

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • F Foothill

                                I think you mean efficient, not deficient :-\

                                if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); }

                                G Offline
                                G Offline
                                Greg Lovekamp
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #35

                                Agreed. As computer professionals, our job is to keep things elegant, simple and maintainable. Why would we put a completely superfluous "u" in a word that doesn't need it?

                                F 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • J jsc42

                                  I haven't read all of the responses yet, so I apologise if this is a repeat of someone else's response. In America, corporations are plural entities; in the UK they are singular. It does not matter whether their name ends in an 's' or not. So: IBM make electronic equipment in America; but Dyson makes electronic equipment in the UK. Similarly: The US government are based in Washington DC; but the UK government is based in London.

                                  G Offline
                                  G Offline
                                  Greg Lovekamp
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #36

                                  Speaking as someone living in Midwest US since birth, what you have written is exactly wrong. Companies are singular entities with all the rights and responsibilities pertaining thereto. US governments have been singular since the American Civil War: it is well documented that prior to that, it was written as "the United States are"; after, it was written "the United States is".

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • K kalberts

                                    Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

                                    B Offline
                                    B Offline
                                    Bruce Patin
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #37

                                    There is or was a political movement in the U.S. saying that a corporation is not a person. The English grammar makes it clear. A corporation are a people, not a person. So, the political campaign are correct. ;-)

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • K kalberts

                                      Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

                                      R Offline
                                      R Offline
                                      Robert Not The Pirate
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #38

                                      I'd say you don't have enough project or projects. :laugh:

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • K kalberts

                                        Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

                                        W Offline
                                        W Offline
                                        willichan
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #39

                                        Context rules. In one context, "Instruments" is a plural noun. In the context you presented, however, "Texas Instruments" is part of a name, and should be treated as a singular proper noun. In the case of the abbreviated names you mentioned, the rule holds true. Since the context has not changed, neither does the singular vs plural sentence structure. In a nutshell: if the context is that of plural entities, then use the plural sentence structure, but if the context is that of a singular entity, use the singular sentence structure. Disclosure: I was born, raised, and educated in the U.S.A. (the country with the name that can be use in either singular or plural, depending on the context) Money makes the world go round ... but documentation moves the money.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • K kalberts

                                          Everyone I know agrees that "Lenovo makes electronic equipment" - it is a singular company, so the 's' should be in place. Now considering Texas Instruments: "Texas Instruments makes electronic equipment", because TI is singular company (at least for this discussion), or "Texas Instruments make electronic equipment" because the name is a plural form? I asked my colleauge from London about this. To be sure, I went to my Oregon colleague for a confirmation - but got the opposite answer. So, you native English speakers from all over the world, would you say: Texas Instruments makes, or Texas Instruments make? Could this be a US vs. UK distinction - do you consider your English belonging to the "British" style, or to the "American" style? To complicate it further: Informally, we often refer to TI as "Texas" only. Is it the "Texas makes electronics" but "Texas Instruments make electronics"? What about companies mostly known by their abbreviation, but the de-abbreviation is plural: IBM make, or makes, computers? - considering that the M is for Machines The good thing is that globally considered, English is such a Babelian language that everything goes, and is for the most part understood whatever variant you choose.

                                          U Offline
                                          U Offline
                                          User 13722762
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #40

                                          If you ask them, IBM *does not* stand for International Business Machines. It used to, but it hasn't for some time now. Same for 3M and probably others. The company that was International Business Machines ceased to exist probably sometime in the 70's due to branding and legal reasons. I think AT&T is the same thing. And the answer for the "s" is that you use the "s" version any time it is a singular entity. So, Texas Instruments makes ICs. The reason is the modifier depends on the whole name not just the final "plural" word. Do not get confused by the British (English). They have this strange (to Texans and other North Americans) habit of using the plural for any entity which could be construed as a plurality of people. That is true even in cases when the name of the entity would be singular.

                                          T 1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups