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Sports Writers Are Using The Wrong Grammar When Discussing The Tide

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Alasippi

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Aug 31, 2007
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I was reading Ian Rappaport or however you spell it and he wrote something like, "The Crimson Tide HAVE now won blah blah blah".
No Ian, the Crimson Tide HAVEn't won anything. The Crimson Tide is one unit, one team comprised of Crimson Tide Players. Therefore, the Crimson Tide HAS , and the Crimson Tide PLayers HAVE.
The Stanford Cardinal HAS..The Cardinal Players HAVE
Johnny HAS..
Not a biggie but it drives me nuts and it's getting more and more frequent.
RTR!
sip
P.S.--If I'm misinformed please inform me :)
 
Al A Bama

Al A Bama

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Jun 24, 2011
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Alasippi said:
I was reading Ian Rappaport or however you spell it and he wrote something like, "The Crimson Tide HAVE now won blah blah blah".
No Ian, the Crimson Tide HAVEn't won anything. The Crimson Tide is one unit, one team comprised of Crimson Tide Players. Therefore, the Crimson Tide HAS , and the Crimson Tide PLayers HAVE.
The Stanford Cardinal HAS..The Cardinal Players HAVE
Johnny HAS..
Not a biggie but it drives me nuts and it's getting more and more frequent.
RTR!
sip
P.S.--If I'm misinformed please inform me :)
Click to expand...
Ian was in Tuscaloosa long enough to know the difference.

I've always thought the same thing, but never said it.
 
TIDE-HSV

TIDE-HSV

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Alasippi said:
I was reading Ian Rappaport or however you spell it and he wrote something like, "The Crimson Tide HAVE now won blah blah blah".
No Ian, the Crimson Tide HAVEn't won anything. The Crimson Tide is one unit, one team comprised of Crimson Tide Players. Therefore, the Crimson Tide HAS , and the Crimson Tide PLayers HAVE.
The Stanford Cardinal HAS..The Cardinal Players HAVE
Johnny HAS..
Not a biggie but it drives me nuts and it's getting more and more frequent.
RTR!
sip
P.S.--If I'm misinformed please inform me :)
Click to expand...
Grammar-wise, it's a gray area. Either is technically correct...
 
Al A Bama

Al A Bama

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TIDE-HSV said:
Grammar-wise, it's a gray area. Either is technically correct...
Click to expand...
But if we use the plural to describe the Crimson Tide, we may be in trouble. If the Crimson Tide plays as ONE UNIT, we will be okay. If the Crimson Tide plays as individual players with individual goals, we are in a bunch of trouble on Monday night between 7:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., maybe 11:30 p.m.

Here's hoping the Crimson Tide plays (not play) an OUTSTANDING game with a winning result because of it's singular focus.
 
Bama Reb

Bama Reb

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Nov 2, 2005
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Alasippi said:
I was reading Ian Rappaport or however you spell it and he wrote something like, "The Crimson Tide HAVE now won blah blah blah".
No Ian, the Crimson Tide HAVEn't won anything. The Crimson Tide is one unit, one team comprised of Crimson Tide Players. Therefore, the Crimson Tide HAS , and the Crimson Tide PLayers HAVE.
The Stanford Cardinal HAS..The Cardinal Players HAVE
Johnny HAS..
Not a biggie but it drives me nuts and it's getting more and more frequent.
RTR!
sip
P.S.--If I'm misinformed please inform me :)
Click to expand...
Hate to disagree, but I think you're incorrect. If the Crimson Tide were named the Crimson Tides, and each team member were a "Tide", the plurality would be "Tides", thus the wording "HAVE" would be correct. However the plural of Crimson Tide is still Crimson Tide, so the word "HAVE" is still correct. JMHO
 
selmaborntidefan

selmaborntidefan

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Alasippi said:
I was reading Ian Rappaport or however you spell it and he wrote something like, "The Crimson Tide HAVE now won blah blah blah".
No Ian, the Crimson Tide HAVEn't won anything. The Crimson Tide is one unit, one team comprised of Crimson Tide Players. Therefore, the Crimson Tide HAS , and the Crimson Tide PLayers HAVE.
The Stanford Cardinal HAS..The Cardinal Players HAVE
Johnny HAS..
Not a biggie but it drives me nuts and it's getting more and more frequent.
RTR!
sip
P.S.--If I'm misinformed please inform me :)
Click to expand...

Actually, Sip - you're incorrect here. Either is correct, it's a constructio ad sensum. Let me give you an example:

"If the band are popular, they will play next month."

"A great number of persons have assembled."

This is also acceptable - "The Crimson Tide have."
 
Sabanizer

Sabanizer

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Dec 6, 2000
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Alasippi said:
I was reading Ian Rappaport or however you spell it and he wrote something like, "The Crimson Tide HAVE now won blah blah blah".
No Ian, the Crimson Tide HAVEn't won anything. The Crimson Tide is one unit, one team comprised of Crimson Tide Players. Therefore, the Crimson Tide HAS , and the Crimson Tide PLayers HAVE.
The Stanford Cardinal HAS..The Cardinal Players HAVE
Johnny HAS..
Not a biggie but it drives me nuts and it's getting more and more frequent.
RTR!
sip
P.S.--If I'm misinformed please inform me :)
Click to expand...
My father the lawyer born 1933, this new age journalism and grammatical errors is a sore spot with him. He will talk about that over what an article says if it has errors, some I would never catch. Earle probably sees them too.
 
dvldog

dvldog

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Is it the Crimson Tide does or the Crimson Tide do? [emoji12]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
tmv85

tmv85

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English teacher weighing in here :)

This is an example of a collective noun, so depending on how "Crimson Tide" is being used, the verb can be either plural or singular. Anything the team does collectively (such as wins the game Monday night) would use a singular verb; however, anything they do as individuals would use a plural noun.

For example:
The Crimson Tide arrives in Phoenix on a 747 on Friday. --> They do this as a group, so the singular verb is used.
The Crimson Tide shower after practice. --> They take their showers individually, so the plural verb is used.
 
Sabanizer

Sabanizer

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bamablood6 said:
whose Be caring? :)
Click to expand...
You did solve the riddle though. People don't care anymore, sad, those little things meant a lot to my fathers generation. Like at the Ivy League schools you would get stared down if your tie or pants length were a tad off. Times have changed. Ebonics on steroids. Debating if cursive writing is needed was a top of conversation not too long ago. Of course it is!
 
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