I'm talking to all the collective-noun-is-singular enforcers. You know who you are.
TV News Item: "A couple has spoken of their shock when a motorcycle smashed through the windscreen of their car."
Now, I've never been a great supporter of the singular status of collective nouns, especially when what makes up the collective is human beings. Granting a noun like "couple" or "family" or "group" the singular indefinite article ("a" or "an") is about as far as I'll go in pronouncing it singular. But I would at least expect those who do think it should be treated as a singular noun to follow the logic to the bitter end. If a noun is singular, you may not treat its singularity as a passing fancy, and abandon it in the middle of a sentence.
You have two choices.
- "A couple have spoken of their shock when a motorcycle smashed through the windscreen of their car."
- "A couple has spoken of its shock when a motorcycle smashed through the windscreen of its car."
It's one or t'other. What's your poison?