Posted on 05/06/2011 12:33:53 PM PDT by nickcarraway
***They don’t even know who vandalized the garage door. ***
Of course they do... it’s Allison’s boyfriend!
“Couple” is singular, unless an individual is doing something to vitiate a singular verb. (This information *might* be available in the context.) In general, “the couple has” is correct, just as “that pair of shoes is” is. Is. They is in my closet.
Have to disagee with you on the use of the word “couple.”
In the first instance it is properly singular: “A Lehigh Acres couple was shocked to find out someone had vandalized their garage by spray painting a proposal on it.”
But in the second instance (which is the one that I was referring to), it should be plural: “The door belonged to Roger and Carolyn Mooyoung. The New York couple, who vacation in Southwest Florida, has been married for 23 years.”
According to the style sheet here: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/31844919.html
Couple - When used in the sense of two people, this collective noun takes plural verbs and pronouns: The couple were married Saturday and left Sunday on their honeymoon. They will return in two weeks. In the sense of a single unit, use a singular verb: The winning couple has one week to collect the prize....
It goes on:
“Garner’s Modern American Usage” explains couple well, separating its usage from that of other collective nouns such as team, company or faculty.
“But unlike other collective nouns, couple should take a plural verb far more often than a singular one. The plural construction is also far more convenient because it eliminates the need to find a suitable pronoun.”
I think we can both agree that the word “to” was misused. :-)
The couple are breaking up and going their separate ways?
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