"Sony are" vs "Sony is"

[Dr. Pezus]

"All sound like good changes. I want the grammar to improve a bit. It really bothers me the way companies are referred to as a group of people, and not as an entity. By this I mean "Sony is making a new game" not "Sony are making a new game"."

http://www.vgchartz.com/article/258609/changes-to-vgchartz/

Isn't that just the difference between UK and US grammar? I think I learned UK write it as "X (company) are doing Y"

[Raven]

"All sound like good changes. I want the grammar to improve a bit. It really bothers me the way companies are referred to as a group of people, and not as an entity. By this I mean "Sony is making a new game" not "Sony are making a new game"."

http://www.vgchartz.com/article/258609/changes-to-vgchartz/

Isn't that just the difference between UK and US grammar? I think I learned UK write it as "X (company) are doing Y"

I don't see the problem either way. Quite often I have seen people refer to a company as both a group and an entity in the same sentence so it just comes off as nitpicking to me.

[Dr. Pezus]

I don't see the problem either way. Quite often I have seen people refer to a company as both a group and an entity in the same sentence so it just comes off as nitpicking to me.

Yeah. I found this answer on a language site:

"These company names are collective nouns. In general, in American English collective nouns almost always trigger singular verb agreement (after all, "Microsoft" is grammatically a singular noun, even if semantically it denotes an entity made up of many people). It is apparently much more common to use plural verb agreement in British English. It doesn't have anything to do with the size of the company."

As I thought, the Brits are more inclined to use plural and VGC consists of more Brits than Americans I believe, at least the major players.

[Xevross]

Yeah. I found this answer on a language site:

"These company names are collective nouns. In general, in American English collective nouns almost always trigger singular verb agreement (after all, "Microsoft" is grammatically a singular noun, even if semantically it denotes an entity made up of many people). It is apparently much more common to use plural verb agreement in British English. It doesn't have anything to do with the size of the company."

As I thought, the Brits are more inclined to use plural and VGC consists of more Brits than Americans I believe, at least the major players.

Yeah I say are not is, Sony is making a new phone just sounds weird. Sony are making a new phone sounds much better

[Dr. Pezus]

Yeah I say are not is, Sony is making a new phone just sounds weird. Sony are making a new phone sounds much better

I usually use 'are' because that's what we were taught in school

[Mmm_fish_tacos]

Yeah I say are not is, Sony is making a new phone just sounds weird. Sony are making a new phone sounds much better

that doesn't sound right.

[Dr. Pezus]

that doesn't sound right.

Because he is from the UK and you US lol

[Mmm_fish_tacos]

Because he is from the UK and you US lol

Even so, it flows all wrong. I would actually say. "sonys making a new phone.  Even if it's wrong. It sounds right when spoken.

[Dr. Pezus]

Even so, it flows all wrong. I would actually say. "sonys making a new phone.  Even if it's wrong. It sounds right when spoken.

Could also say "Theys making a new phone" instead of "They are making a new phone" because it flows better lol.

[Mmm_fish_tacos]

Could also say "Theys making a new phone" instead of "They are making a new phone" because it flows better lol.

Yeah, if you're from the getto.

[Mmm_fish_tacos]

That's when we would use are. They are making or they're making.

[the-pi-guy]

Yeah I say are not is, Sony is making a new phone just sounds weird. Sony are making a new phone sounds much better

Xevross are making a new phone sounds a lot better. 

Could also say "Theys making a new phone" instead of "They are making a new phone" because it flows better lol.

No that breaks rules! 
Are sounds better because of plurality. 
Sony is a single entity, but Sony are made up of many people. 
Are sounds weird because it sounds like there's many Sony. 

[Dr. Pezus]

Xevross are making a new phone sounds a lot better. 
No that breaks rules! 
Are sounds better because of plurality. 
Sony is a single entity, but Sony are made up of many people. 
Are sounds weird because it sounds like there's many Sony. 

That's your opinion, bro.

[Raven]

Should we also say "Iceland are" or "Canada are"? What if the UK won the Winter Olympics? Should we say "the UK win the Olympics"? You could argue that nations are based on defined territory and thus can be used as a singular but I could also argue that companies have private property and thus their own land and could be spoken of in the same way.

[DD_Bwest]

ive always though that, Even though a company is made up of lots of people, its still a single company.  if you are refering to the people at the company, you use are, but if your refering to the company its is.

Sony IS making a new game
The guys at sony ARE making a new game.

Samsung and Sony ARE making a new product together