"Have" versus "Has"
In a series of posts Virtus will provide tips and advice covering many aspects of publishing. This series will be an ongoing selection of language tips, covering areas that many authors find difficult or confusing. These will be short and to the point.
Virtus Publishing Language Tip #13: “Have” versus “Has”
Questions concerning the use of “have” versus “has” come up often, for example whether we would say, “a group has” or “a group have.” As is the case with many issues in English, the short answer is that it depends.
Which of these is correct depends on the context in which the phrase is being used, specifically whether we are referring to the group as a single unit (“group has”) or as separate members (“group have”).
See our previous post, Virtus Publishing Language Tip #12: Collective Nouns for a related discussion.
Here are two examples that are similar, from The Chicago Manual of Style:
When the subject is a collective noun conveying the idea of unity or multitude, the verb is singular:
The nation is powerful.
When the subject is a collective noun conveying the idea of plurality, the verb is plural:
The faculty were divided in their sentiments.
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Regarding the use of “group,” we have two possible scenarios that are similar to the “faculty” example from CMS above:
The tour group has decided to take a cruise.
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In this scenario, unity is being expressed. They are treated as a single unit because they are in agreement: we use “has.”
The tour group have disagreements over whether to take a cruise.
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In this scenario, plurality is implied. The members are treated separately because they are in disagreement: we use “have.”
In this case, I believe that it’s better to change the sentence to read something like this:
The tour group members have disagreements over whether to take a cruise.
Here’s another similar example, using “is” versus “are.”
The tour group is enjoying the cruise.
In this scenario, again, unity is implied. They are treated as a single unit because they are in agreement: we use “is.”
The tour group are bickering over where to go after the cruise.
In this scenario, they are treated separately because again, plurality is being expressed. They are in disagreement: we use “are.”
Once again, in this case, I believe that it’s better to change the sentence to read something like this:
The members of the tour group are bickering over where to go after the cruise.
These examples are common issues that come up very often and as is the case with many grammatical issues, AI is unlikely to handle them correctly because as of now AI cannot interpret context.
When we are writing or copyediting it is imperative that we pay close attention to all text as concerns both the intended meaning and the context.
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