Talking about Sports Teams
2024-04-19
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1In this week's Everyday Grammar, we answer a question from a reader named Sol.
2Sol asked, "When you make a question about a team such as the Bay Packers, do you say, 'Are the Bay Packers famous?' or 'Is the Bay Packers famous?'"
3Sol is talking about the Green Bay Packers.
4The professional American football team is based in the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
5The team's name, the Packers, comes from a local meat-packing plant where one of the team founders worked.
6Finding the answer to Sol's question will help us learn about different kinds of nouns in American English.
7Let's start with the simple answer to Sol's question.
8We usually use the plural form of the BE verb to talk about a team name that includes a plural noun.
9Dave Zirin wrote this about the Packers in the New Yorker magazine:
10The Packers are owned by the fans.
11In this sentence, the third-person plural verb form "are" agrees with the plural noun "Packers."
12When we simply use the word "team," we are using a collective noun.
13A collective noun refers to a number of people. But we usually treat it like a singular noun.
14Other collective nouns include "audience," "government," "committee" and "staff."
15That is why you would expect most Americans to say, "His team is playing well this season."
16But English speakers in other countries often treat collective nouns as plural nouns.
17People in Britain and Ireland, for example, might instead say, "His team are playing well this season."
18Sometimes, Americans talk or write about a sports team without using the team's actual name.
19Instead, they refer to the team by the city they represent.
20Here is an example of what we mean from Wikipedia:
21Green Bay is the third-oldest team in the National Football League.
22The "BE" verb is singular (is) because the city name (Green Bay) is a singular noun.
23We can write the structure like this:
24Plural Noun + third-person plural verb form
25Singular or Collective Noun + third-person singular verb form
26Many American sports teams have plural names, like the Kansas City Chiefs, the Detroit Lions and the New England Patriots. These names are all count nouns.
27But some teams have names that are noncount or mass nouns.
28They include the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
29This is where things get a little tricky.
30Let's use the Orlando Magic as an example.
31The word "magic" is a noncount noun.
32Magic is a power that lets someone do impossible things by saying special words or performing special actions.
33When we talk about magic, we use singular verb forms.
34But in the case of the Orlando Magic basketball team, some sports writers treat the noncount noun team name as a plural.
35For example, the Orlando Magic official website says:
36The Orlando Magic are one of only two teams to beat the Chicago Bulls in a playoff series in the 1990s.
37Note the use of the third-person plural verb form of BE.
38Now, let's travel outside of the United States to see how other sports teams are discussed.
39Teams in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) are often named after the city that sponsors them.
40But Real Madrid is a little different.
41The team got the approval of King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1920 and can use the Spanish word for "Royal."
42Sportswriter Manuel Esposito wrote on Soccerfeed:
43Real Madrid is known for attracting the world's best players.
44The Athletic Club of Bilbao is another UEFA team.
45In a recent story for ESPN, British reporter Sid Lowe followed the British English preference of making collective nouns plural:
46Athletic are a unique club, famously following a policy of playing only with Basque players.
47Coming back to the United States, a lot of people in the sports world this week are talking about star basketball player Caitlin Clark.
48During her college career at the University of Iowa, she broke the all-time scoring record for men and women.
49Now, she is going professional.
50Look at how sportswriters talked about her new professional basketball team.
51On Monday, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) held their yearly event in which teams can pick players for the upcoming season.
52The WNBA team from the state of Indiana, Indiana Fever, got the chance to pick first.
53Not surprisingly, the team chose Clark.
54The team's website announced the news like this:
55Indiana Fever Select Caitlin Clark with No. 1 Overall Pick in 2024 WNBA Draft
56Yet, the WNBA announced it this way:
57Indiana Fever Selects Caitlin Clark with First Overall Pick in WNBA Draft 2024
58Here is a quiz question for you: If the team name, Indiana Fever, is a collective noun, which sentence is correct, according to American English?
59When you answer, tell us about your favorite sports team.
60Write a sentence or two using the team's name and let us know if the name is a count noun or a collective noun.
61And that's Everyday Grammar.
62I'm Jill Robbins.
1In this week's Everyday Grammar, we answer a question from a reader named Sol. Sol asked, "When you make a question about a team such as the Bay Packers, do you say, 'Are the Bay Packers famous?' or 'Is the Bay Packers famous?'" 2Sol is talking about the Green Bay Packers. The professional American football team is based in the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The team's name, the Packers, comes from a local meat-packing plant where one of the team founders worked. 3Finding the answer to Sol's question will help us learn about different kinds of nouns in American English. 4Let's start with the simple answer to Sol's question. We usually use the plural form of the BE verb to talk about a team name that includes a plural noun. Dave Zirin wrote this about the Packers in the New Yorker magazine: 5The Packers are owned by the fans. 6In this sentence, the third-person plural verb form "are" agrees with the plural noun "Packers." 7When we simply use the word "team," we are using a collective noun. A collective noun refers to a number of people. But we usually treat it like a singular noun. Other collective nouns include "audience," "government," "committee" and "staff." That is why you would expect most Americans to say, "His team is playing well this season." 8But English speakers in other countries often treat collective nouns as plural nouns. People in Britain and Ireland, for example, might instead say, "His team are playing well this season." 9Sometimes, Americans talk or write about a sports team without using the team's actual name. Instead, they refer to the team by the city they represent. Here is an example of what we mean from Wikipedia: 10Green Bay is the third-oldest team in the National Football League. 11The "BE" verb is singular (is) because the city name (Green Bay) is a singular noun. 12We can write the structure like this: 13Plural Noun + third-person plural verb form 14Singular or Collective Noun + third-person singular verb form 15Many American sports teams have plural names, like the Kansas City Chiefs, the Detroit Lions and the New England Patriots. These names are all count nouns. 16But some teams have names that are noncount or mass nouns. They include the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder. 17This is where things get a little tricky. 18Let's use the Orlando Magic as an example. The word "magic" is a noncount noun. Magic is a power that lets someone do impossible things by saying special words or performing special actions. When we talk about magic, we use singular verb forms. 19But in the case of the Orlando Magic basketball team, some sports writers treat the noncount noun team name as a plural. For example, the Orlando Magic official website says: 20The Orlando Magic are one of only two teams to beat the Chicago Bulls in a playoff series in the 1990s. 21Note the use of the third-person plural verb form of BE. 22Soccer (Football) teams in Europe 23Now, let's travel outside of the United States to see how other sports teams are discussed. 24Teams in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) are often named after the city that sponsors them. But Real Madrid is a little different. The team got the approval of King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1920 and can use the Spanish word for "Royal." Sportswriter Manuel Esposito wrote on Soccerfeed: 25Real Madrid is known for attracting the world's best players. 26The Athletic Club of Bilbao is another UEFA team. In a recent story for ESPN, British reporter Sid Lowe followed the British English preference of making collective nouns plural: 27Athletic are a unique club, famously following a policy of playing only with Basque players. 28Women's basketball 29Coming back to the United States, a lot of people in the sports world this week are talking about star basketball player Caitlin Clark. During her college career at the University of Iowa, she broke the all-time scoring record for men and women. 30Now, she is going professional. Look at how sportswriters talked about her new professional basketball team. 31On Monday, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) held their yearly event in which teams can pick players for the upcoming season. The WNBA team from the state of Indiana, Indiana Fever, got the chance to pick first. 32Not surprisingly, the team chose Clark. The team's website announced the news like this: 33Indiana Fever Select Caitlin Clark with No. 1 Overall Pick in 2024 WNBA Draft 34Yet, the WNBA announced it this way: 35Indiana Fever Selects Caitlin Clark with First Overall Pick in WNBA Draft 2024 36Here is a quiz question for you: If the team name, Indiana Fever, is a collective noun, which sentence is correct, according to American English? 37When you answer, tell us about your favorite sports team. Write a sentence or two using the team's name and let us know if the name is a count noun or a collective noun. 38And that's Everyday Grammar. 39I'm Jill Robbins. 40Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 41_______________________________________________________ 42collective noun - n. (grammar) a noun such as 'family' or ' team' that refers to a group of people or things 43noncount or mass noun - n. (grammar) a noun that does not have a plural form; a noun, as water, electricity, or happiness, that typically refers to an indefinitely divisible substance or an abstract notion, and that in English cannot be used, in such a sense, with the indefinite article or in the plural 44count noun - n. (grammar) a noun, as apple, table, or birthday, that typically refers to a countable thing and that in English can be used in both the singular and the plural and can be preceded by the indefinite article a or an and by numerals 45What is the name of your favorite sports team? Is it a count or a noncount noun? Write a sentence using the name. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.