It's just a cultural clash. A number of words like army, company, crowd, fleet, government, majority, mess, number, pack, and party may refer either to a

It's just a cultural clash. A number of words like army, company, crowd, fleet, government, majority, mess, number, pack, and party may refer either to a single entity or the members of the set composing it. If the latter meaning is intended, the word (though singular in form) may be treated as if it were a plural, in that it may take a plural verb and be replaced with a plural pronoun: the government are considering their position (alternatively the government is considering its position). See synesis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plural#Singulars_with_collective_meaning_treated_as_plural http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plural#Singulars_with_c...