Chrysler “Thank You America” Blog B lows Up in Their Face

You must be ecstatic! (Shouldn't it be "its" face?)

Face

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"It" implies an inanimate object "their" encompasses the whole of Chrysler. I am *not* pleased that my tax money is stolen for the benefit of GM and Chrysler, Pete & Repeat that should have gone into bankruptcy. They will go into bankruptcy as their market share drops and more folks buy their cars from the other made in America manufacturers-Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc. Detroit only has itself to blame-as anyone can read from the blog comments.

Well, "it" is a corporation.

I am *not* pleased that my tax money is stolen for the

Just to antagonize:

Face

There's a lot of variation in whether a company is referred to in the singular (taking it as a single entity), or in the plural (taking it as all the people involved with it). Generally, and with many exceptions, Americans will use the singular while the English use the plural.

"Their" is OK on two counts: (1) It is acceptable to use "their" in a singular context (one of many sources:

Look up "collective noun" and "collective pronoun". Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Bill, I hear what you're saying, and have been through that lots of times. The way I used to do it was to alternate...saying, for instance, "Chrysler is.." and then in the next paragraph, "they..." Drove most folks, and me, crazy.

I guess everyone is entitled to their (shudder) opinion.

See my answer to Bill. On the basis of your explanation, what would that make Higgins?

Right or wrong, to my ears, to follow "Chrysler is..." with "they..." sounds more natural/less awkward than to say "it...", referring to Chrysler. Again, "they" and "their" can be used for singular (probably through usage), though it seems "technically" wrong. It would also sound weird to say "Chrysler are...". though that could technically be correct. "The data is ready." - technically incorrect, but acceptable. "The data are ready" - technically correct, but sounds weird in casual speech.

So how come we say "that door is closed" (not "that door is close"), but "that door is open" (not "that door is opened")? I think I know why, but would be interested in your guess or answer.

I'm not familiar with "Higgins"...

My understanding is that "they" etc is ok if the noun acts as a 'collective' noun. Therefore, "Chrysler are" is fine because it refers to a collection of people. "The corporation is" is also ok because the corporation is a single entity. The use of "it" does not have definite overtones of 'inanimatedness'. It just means no gender, so the corporation can have its acccounts audited.

I think the key is to decide on one mode in a paragraph or article and stick with it.

Where "they" for singular has crept in through usage -- at least in the UK -- is the 'politically correct' way of dealing with a person of undetermined gender. This is a way of avoiding "he" when it could be he or she. In other languages this may be unnecessary since the word "person" itself has gender. In German for example it is feminine. So in a German sentence one would speak of a person who has money in her pocket, whether it is a woman or a man.

OT... :-) DAS

To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling"

Maybe Professor Higgins?

In 'Ertford (1), 'Ereford and 'Ampshire 'urricanes 'ardly hever 'appen.

(1) Pronounced as in 'Artford.

DAS

To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling"

O-o-h-h - you mean Enry Iggins.

On Jan 1, 10:22=A0pm, Joe Pfeiffer wrote: s, Americans will use the singular while the English use the

errr...the OP, he who declared that the "Chrysler blog blew up in their face"...or should that be "faces". 8)

Agree with all of the above, actually. It was my perverse side that led me to mix 'em.

Bingo! It used to be that the singular pronoun "he" was the default for the condition where the gender was indeterminate. Now, we have to have the plural "their" because folks can't say "he" without guilt.

....drives me nuts, but not as much as the talking heads on the news programs on television who, when asked a question, begin with "I mean...".

As Rush Limbaugh would say, the media is responsible for all this. :))

Huh? Maybe it only matters when the door is close to being closed.........no.... ...maybe it is an elliptical sentence with the words missing having to do with the door's (note the possessive) being (subjunctive) in a.....closed state....no.. ....that door has been closed...........what's yours?

Leave me alone, Bill. I don't have time for all this...I really only want to read Jim 'iggins (' ) clippings....that's a full time job.

Besides, I have to go figure out which side is the bad wheel bearing.

You trying to draw me into this?

Ain't gonna work buddy...

Note brain fart....gerund.

Naw, Bill will know...his memory is lots better than mine.

LOL! Noise turning off or on when you turn to a particular side doesn't mean anything. I used to adamantly argue that it did, but I've had to change my thinking on that due to reality hitting me in the face over the last couple of years.

Basically, on most cars they design (it designs?) :) the offset of the factory wheels to put the plane of the center of pressure (pavement to tread) in the center plane of the bearing, so it could go either way. Only when those two planes are not close to congruent is there any reason to expect to be able to tell which bearing is bad by which direction you turn in to make the bearing louder.