Apple are evil?<\/p>\n
by John on February 8, 2010
\nMike Croucher wrote a post the other day explaining why he\u2019s going to buy an iPad. He said that one of the objections to the iPad he\u2019d heard was
\nApple are evil because they take away control of how we use their devices.
\nI teased Mike that I would never say \u201cApple are evil.\u201d On this side of the Atlantic we\u2019d say \u201cApple is evil.\u201d But in the UK it is accepted usage to say \u201cApple are evil.\u201d
\n\u201cApple\u201d is a collective noun when used to refer to Apple Inc. British English treats collective nouns as plural, but American English treats them as singular. Although the British usage sounds odd to my American ears, it makes sense just as much sense as the American convention. You could argue for plural verbs because corporations are made of individual people, or you could argue for singular verbs because the corporations act as a single entity. See Grammar Girl\u2019s tip on collective nouns for more background.
\nvia Apple are evil? \u2014 The Endeavour<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple are evil? by John on February 8, 2010 Mike Croucher wrote a post the other day explaining why he\u2019s going to buy an iPad. He said that one of the objections to the iPad he\u2019d heard was Apple are evil because they take away control of how we use their devices. I teased Mike … <\/p>\n