DarkAngelBGE Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 What is the right statement: My family has or my family have ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoggyFrog Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 has would be correct. It's the third party singular of the verb, and that is what my family is, being a noun to group them into one. Actually, I'm also imagining have working, but I don't think it really does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeOptimist Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 Have would only really work in a multi-party situation:My family has many pets.Two families have had pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tutankhamun Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 I second all of that. My dog has a foot.Those dog's have feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoggyFrog Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 About that last comment, my mind must've been playing tricks on me.Tut, it's Those dogs have feet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_08 Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 Have would only really work in a multi-party situation:My family has many pets.Two families have had petsI don't think the last example is a multi-party situation,I think its a past tense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yiuel Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 Is the subject taken as a single group? The word "family" is a word that describ a group, taken as a whole. As if it was one. Hence, it should be singular : My family has something.The members of my family have something. In this last sentence, the subject is a group, but taken as indifiduals, hence plural.(Happy are those language that don't care about conjugation. My two humble cents.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akya Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 (Happy are those language that don't care about conjugation. My two humble cents.) I totally agree with you on that (y) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeOptimist Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 I don't think the last example is a multi-party situation,I think its a past tense.Fine, it's past tense. Still a valid example though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorian Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 Why all the complictaed answers? It's My family has Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Op Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 I agree that it's has, just cause it sounds more correct in my ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yiuel Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 Ear-pleasure is a foolish way to proove a point. In French, actually, it can lead to true logic errors. And when it is not your mother tongue, no ear-pleasure can tell you you're right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uppy Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 The word have is for more then one and the word has is for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkAngelBGE Posted August 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 Because I think that it sucks that some people always say "Company X" have done this etc. It refers to the company, then oun the company and not how many are working there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufinwe Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 (It is the same problem as with :the United-States has declared war upon terrorism.Here the US is taken as a whole, as a group ... hence the hasHowever, it was not such throughout history. Until very recently, the US was referred as they.One would have said : [the United States have declared war to Japan.But I guess that is a bit outdated.EDIT: I am reading a book at the moment, and I have just come across " [...] his family were [...]"So I guess both are possible, depending on what you mean ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
av_nefardec Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 I think what you're getting at is the so-called "Class plural".Whether you look at family as a group of individuals or as simply individuals that happen to be grouped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufinwe Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 (Yeh, probably, but it was the first time I saw "family" as associated with plural. I would use "relatives" instead ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 Its true. They would have said, "The United States have declared war on Japan," back in the day. But like they said, if a whole group is thought of as a single group, then it is has.Amgen has made many pharmaceutical drugs.Perscription drug companies have made many pharmaceutical drugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clodhopper Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 "Family" is a group of people, but at the same time it is a singular word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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