Agreement with collective nouns in British and American English

[hela]

Dear teachers,

Would you please tell me in what circumstances we can use a singular or a plural form of the verb with collective nouns?
In a similar article, I found two different agreements for the same type of sentence. Would you please tell me why?

"The Oklahoma City jury charged with deciding Holtzclaw's fate have not yet reached a decision as of 5:27 p.m. on Wednesday."

and

"Rally co-organizer Candace Liger said she isn’t surprised the jury has not yet reached a decision."

Best regards

 

[GoesStation]

In American English "the jury" is singular. I think BrE is a little flexible in this attribution but generally favors the plural. In your text, perhaps the reporter has recast a quote into reported speech; if Ms. Liger said "I'm not surprised the jury hasn't reached a decision," the (presumably British) reporter may have inadvertently retained the singular.

 

[MikeNewYork]

The verb number is these cases largely depends on how the speaker/writer views the collective noun. If the collective is seen as a unit, the verb will usually be singular. If the collective is seen as a individuals, the verb will usually be plural. Plural verbs with collectives is far more common in BrE than in AmE.