When I'm talking about a company like Microsoft, can I refer to the Microsoft as they or it? Explanations?
As mentioned above, 'a company like Microsoft' is singular... so use 'it'. You use 'they' when you refer to the people working in Microsoft, products it produces or services it provides etc.. examples: Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates. It is one of the biggest companies in the world now. Microsoft hires people from all over the world. They are a formidable work force. Edit: Thanks islander
I would have said, They are one of the biggest companies in the World - primarily because 'companies' is plural, as in my previous post.
I guess it all depends upon the context the statement is used in then, because singular and plural, are always singular and plural, and therefore 'it' and 'they'.
Yes Context! In the following sentences or chapters are you going to be calling "it" or "they". In the other sentences talking about it/them which one seems a better fit. It might be necessary to get it all out, then go back and pick the right ones.
This is not correct. In the sentence "They are one of the biggest companies in the world," the initial they is not modifying the word companies, but instead the word one. They are one of the biggest companies in the world. Hence, the sentence is incorrect because they are one in this context makes no sense. The preposition of is a boundary of syntax. The subject (it or Microsoft) is not going to directly modify words to the other side of the preposition. The correct word is it. It replaces Microsoft, a singular noun. Microsoft [it] is one of the biggest companies in the world.
Microsoft is actually a collective noun i.e. a noun that is singular in form but refers to a group of people. We can find other more general examples of collective nouns. Ones we frequently argue about when marking exams are: army, class, committee, crew, family, jury, police, staff, team. In British English, when a group like this is considered as a single unit, the collective noun is used with a singular verb and singular pronouns, e.g. The jury has reached its decision. But when the focus is on the individual members of the group, British English uses a plural verb and plural pronouns, e.g. The class have been working all week. This is like saying The people in the class have been working all week. BUT: The determiner in front of a singular collective noun is always singular: this family, never these family (although when the collective noun is plural, it takes a plural determiner: these committees).
Here's an interesting case: We say "The Dodgers are playing the Yankees." But, referring to the same game, do we say "LA is playing New York"?
