English: 3rd person singular s
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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.
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.
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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.
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" ?
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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.
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 ..."
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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.
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!
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I think you mean efficient, not deficient :-\
if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); }
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?
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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.
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".
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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.
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. ;-)
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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.
I'd say you don't have enough project or projects. :laugh:
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
Seems clear to me. What if it was Texas Implements makes implements? Texas Implements implements implement as part of the token Texas Implements, which is singular for both implementations - implement and implements. Clear? :)
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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.
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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?
..but it does need it to allow correct pronunciation - another deficiency in the American version of an otherwise excellent language. Without the 'U' then the word should be pronounced "co-law". With the 'U' then the correct "colour" is clearly defined!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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I think you mean efficient, not deficient :-\
if (Object.DividedByZero == true) { Universe.Implode(); }
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Let's just call it an "efficient deficiency", then. ;P
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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..but it does need it to allow correct pronunciation - another deficiency in the American version of an otherwise excellent language. Without the 'U' then the word should be pronounced "co-law". With the 'U' then the correct "colour" is clearly defined!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
No, "co-law" would be ignoring the "r" on the end; that would be mispronunciation. Cambridge Dictionary: How to pronounce color in English[^]
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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.
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No, "co-law" would be ignoring the "r" on the end; that would be mispronunciation. Cambridge Dictionary: How to pronounce color in English[^]