Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!sun-barr!ccut!titcca!dclsic!sjc!spider!leia!harkcom From: harkcom@potato.pa.Yokogawa.CO.JP (Alton Harkcom) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: Acronyms. Is is `1 MIP' or `1 MIPS'? Message-ID: Date: 27 Jun 90 17:21:22 GMT References: <6033@helios.TAMU.EDU> <111360@linus.mitre.org> <305@spam.ua.oz> <16948@haddock.ima.isc.com> <7711@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> <+I84:_@xds13.ferranti.com> peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes: =}> USA is a singular acronym because it is a collective term. "The USA =}> is..." would be the same as saying "The United States of America is..." =} =}But the correct phrase is "The United States of America are...", at least =}according to one set of literalist grammarians. The correct phrase is "The United States of America is.." when refering to the country as a whole and "The United States of America are..." never. If you want to refer to the states as individual entities you can not use the capitalized "The United States of America" you could use "the united states of America" but then you would be insulting Canada, Central America and South America... =}Really. What if you're talking about a rap group called "fucking idiots"? Then you could refer to them as a collective... "The FI is my favorite group!" People who refer to them as "The FI are..." are using incorrect grammar. -- --harkcom@potato.pa.yokogawa.co.jp