Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Today we're going to decide whether companies are people or things; in other words, whether you use the relative pronoun who or that when referring to an entity like a company or board of directors. Najam grammar I was always confused with the use of has or have in sentences like: XYZ coporation has asked its shareholders for their new addresses. But now I understnd that both would be correct. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=15723#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=15723#Comments Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:28:59 GMT LAURA grammar IF YOU ARE EXPLAINING TO SOMEONE WHERE YOU LIVE WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY?.."i LIVE IN HOUSTON....OR " I STAY IN HOUSTON". Is using the word stay incorrect grammar? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=14758#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=14758#Comments Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:42:24 GMT Rafik Kazikhanov grammar Hi, I have a question. Is "why" when used in a question singular or proper? Thanks! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=14237#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=14237#Comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:31:42 GMT Jae Baeli grammar okay, what about the phrase "a legion of guardian angels"--do you say "who" did something or "that" did something? A legion is a collective noun, angels is plural, and they are entities, but neither are really PEOPLE. hehe. So would the phrase be "A legion of guardian angels who" or "A legion of guardian angels that"? thanks, Jae http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=12724#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=12724#Comments Tue, 27 May 2008 16:59:11 GMT Albert grammar As an Englishman, I have no problem with "That is the company whose managers fled the country." But I could not say,"That is the table whose legs were damaged last week." I cannot speak for everyone in the UK, but that's the way I have absorbed our language. If I had to correct that sentence without completely rewriting it, I would say "That is the table, the legs of which were damaged last week." I also agree with Teri Greene (1/8/2008). "The committee was unanimous", but "the committee were undecided". http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=11419#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=11419#Comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:15:59 GMT Teri Greene grammar Asbestos I remember from school, a collective noun uses singular pronouns when it acts as a unit, and plural when it acts as a bunch of individuals. E.g.: The group was escorted to its reserved table. The group ordered different entrees, and they enjoyed them equally. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=11338#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=11338#Comments Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:36:34 GMT Dave grammar Here's an interesting lyric from Elvis Costello's song, "Oliver's Army": "Oliver's army is here to stay Oliver's army are on their way" I always thought that was an interesting lyric, with the collective plural/singular thing happening in the same phrase. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=11335#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=11335#Comments Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:21:29 GMT Matt grammar I struggled with this concept in a couple of papers that I have written. The problem that I have is how can a company, which is legally a person in the rules that it has to abide by, be referred to as an "it". If our system allows for a corporation to have the same rights, in general, as you and I, shouldn't it be referred to in a similar fashion while writing? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=10704#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=10704#Comments Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:41:36 GMT Bill grammar Where can the "Behind the Grammar" podcast be found? I've done quite a bit of searching but have not been able to find it. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=10451#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=10451#Comments Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:10:57 GMT Melissa Donovan grammar I've wondered about this before, but have always just reworded my text. Now I know! -Melissa Donovan Writing FORWARD http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=10282#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx?commentid=10282#Comments Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:52:04 GMT Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:28:59 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-who-that.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us