You know where it says "MNHQ have commented on this thread..."

[BitOutOfPractice]

And then there's a link to where NMHQ has commented.

I beg you , on bended knee.

Please can it say "MNHQ has commented..."

MNHQ is singular. Not plural. Like companies

"Apple has launched a new iWatch" not ""Apple have launched a new iWatch"

Sorry it's a pet hate but if you had to correct this mistake in your job as many times as I do, you'd understand

NMHQ?

Mumsnet Head Quarters I assume!

Sorry. It's just that you typed 'NMHQ' then went on about correcting mistakes and I couldn't resist.

or you meant NetMumsHQ.

But there's more than one quarter - it's the headquarters. You don't ever say Headquarter. So it is plural, so it should be "have commented". Possibly.

It doesn't work for me anyway, usually when you click on it it takes you to the comment by mnhq yes? But since the mobile site changed it hadn't been working for me.

No, there's only one headquarters. It's singular.

Oh sparkling I see

Unfortunately i can't comment on what you are saying re the have/has as I don't know.

My pet hate-apostrophe abuse.

I'm scanning my posts now to check apostrophes!

Nooo-I didn't mean you Bit . I meant in RL. Dunelm and their Bath Mat's.

BitOut - it's not necessarily a mistake.

Just blown the dust off my copy of The Economist Pocket Style Guide (1986) and it says:

"There is no firm rule about the number of a verb governed by a singular collective noun. It is best to go by the sense - ie, whether the collective noun stands for a single entity (The council was elected in March, The army is on a voluntary basis) or for its constituents (The council are at sixes and sevens over rates, The army are above the average civilian height).

So, I would say it's not the actual HQ that has commented, but the constituents (ie people) of the HQ that have commented.

NameChanger I think it's the Americans who prefer the singular use - I was working as an editor for an American in the 1980s and remember him "correcting" me. That's why I acquired a copy of the Pocket Style Guide.

I think they are trying to convey that they are ALL INDIVIDUALS, Brian.

But it will be a collective opinion, not just the opinion of the person who actually typed the response.

But the message on the thread comes from an individual at mnhq so....

And I dispute that the use of singular being American. I had this rule beaten into me by a very British FT journalist.

It just jars with me. And it's only a small request

Your British FT journalist might have had a personal preference for the singular but it is definitely an American thing. From Wikipedia:

"In British English, it is generally accepted that collective nouns can take either singular or plural verb forms depending on the context and the metonymic shift that it implies. For example, "the team is in the dressing room" (formal agreement) refers to the team as an ensemble, while "the team are fighting among themselves" (notional agreement) refers to the team as individuals. This is also British English practice with names of countries and cities in sports contexts; for example, "Germany have won the competition.", "Madrid have lost three consecutive matches.", etc. In American English, collective nouns almost invariably take singular verb forms (formal agreement). In cases where a metonymic shift would be otherwise revealed nearby, the whole sentence may be recast to avoid the metonymy. (For example, "The team are fighting among themselves" may become "the team members are fighting among themselves" or simply "The team is fighting.") See Comparison of American and British English - Formal and notional agreement.

TheFarSide I know you keep copying rafts of text out of a grammar book. Which confirm that in British English either the singular or plural is used.

I'm with you OP (and I'm British)