by Nancy Linenkugel
Contributor
From a TV commercial: "Our network of lawyers are ready to work for you."
From a newspaper ad: "Our team of medical professionals are here to help."
From a TV crime drama: "A husband and wife team of killers were on the loose."
From a forensic report: "We were able to prove that the trajectory of the bullets were downward."
From a national TV news broadcast: "A group of operations forces are trapped in a small city."
From a World War II documentary: "A group of engineers have gathered to make repairs."
Whatever happened to subject-verb agreement? Our network is ready. Our team is here. A team was on the loose. The trajectory was downward. A group is trapped. A group gathered. Don't the above phrases grate and cry out for correction to your ear?
In my continuing work career, perhaps I could now shift to a job that involves almost no effort on my part and would let me work from home doing almost nothing. What job is that? How about copy editor for TV shows, commercials, and newspaper ads? There's only one problem: that work would apparently have one stressor in its uphill battle to remain in existence, though, because colloquial usage is the real reason that copy editors became extinct. Gee, maybe I could get work as a psychic, too.
[Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati Ohio.]