This is what I have to think about :/

[upsticks]

Please tell me if I'm wrong, but am I right in thinking that

"working out who the audience is",

is a different thing to

"working out who the audience are"?


Which one's right? Are they both grammatically correct?



Jeez this hurts.

Comments

[glitterfairy25.livejournal.com]

I think that answers my ponderance, like, EXACTLY. What happens with AmE then? :S

[marah-sarie.livejournal.com]

American English would be more likely to stick with singular, I think. Take your example a couple comments up -- in American English you would definitely say "the audience was very lively tonight" instead of "the audience were very lively tonight." That sounds very wrong to my American ear, even though it's definitely correct in British English.

[glitterfairy25.livejournal.com]

That's really strange, I never knew it wasn't just a subtle difference but a American English/British English one too!
IN CONCLUSION: English is weird.