Trumps

[dml54]

Which is correct ' Clubs is trumps' or 'clubs are trumps'?

[rojash]

are

[Robert G]

Or one could say: "The trump suit is clubs".

[Quizmonster]

Either is acceptable. When you say 'clubs' re cards, you are referring to the suit of that name and a suit can be regarded as a singular entity - just like team - or a plural one - since it contains several elements.
So 'Clubs is trumps' means the singular suit of that name is the trump suit...while 'Clubs are trumps' means all the cards which constitute the suit of clubs are trump cards.

[rojash]

So, QM, we meet again! I have to disagree with you on this one. Whilst I accept that by 'Clubs' you could mean 'the suit of clubs' in the singular, you are then following it with the word 'trumps' in the plural - so (IMHO) better to treat 'clubs' as plural too.

[Quizmonster]

As I said, R, it is perfectly acceptable to opt for the plural approach here, as you do. By the same token, I hold that it is not wrong to choose the singular one instead, as already explained. End of story, really. Cheers

[searchme]

'Clubs is trumps?'

You is wrong QM.

Try saying that to the ( blue rinsed) ladies at my local whist drive and they'd have you bounced out as an arriviste,illiterate mong from the local council estate who'd be better off playing 3 card brag.

[Peter Pedant]

The verb takes the number of the subject of the sentence.

The subject is Clubs, which I think is plural.

Therefore it should be

Clubs are trumps.

Collective nouns, such as the army, is singular. The army is massacring Iraqis in Iraq - is correct. That is, if you think they are. (or it is).

I dont think it is so critical if one is speaking.

If you are unsure, or in coarse company, where one may say, bumpies instead of clubs, why not just grunt:

Clubs, trumps. ?

or more positively, Clubs, trumps, yeah!

[Quizmonster]

Oh dear, oh dear! "Hearts are my favourite suit", eh?

[dml54]

Thanks to everyone for their replies.

[Dustybun]

when you're playing, you only ever hear people say "what's trumps?" never "what are trumps?"

[dml54]

sorry but I do say 'What are trumps?'

[Quizmonster]

So, there you have it! As I wrote in the opening three words of my first response above: "Either is acceptable."

[Robert G]

Clearly, it comes down to whether 'Clubs' is being thought of as the card SUIT, or the CARDS in the suit. A person hearing one or other of the questioner's alternative announcements is required to deduce which. Whilst this presents no practical problems when playing card games, nevertheless it may be unsatisfactory in other situations, and it is typical of many ambiguities and misinterpretations created by the use of sloppy and abbreviated English language.

Sorry, Quizmonster, but after all these thoughtful answers (including consideration of plural nowns, etc), I still think that, to the world at large anyway, it should be "Clubs ARE trumps". This is how I justify my assertion:

When playing bridge or whist, each suit comprises 13 cards. Therefore there are 13 trump cards in the trump suit. But no-one speaking grammatically correct English would say "the 13 Clubs cards IS the trump cards". They would say "the 13 Clubs cards ARE the trump cards. Ie. "Clubs are trumps".

Alternatively, one can refer to the singular noun, 'suit', and say either "The trump suit is Clubs", or "The suit of Clubs is trumps". But to the world at large, 'Clubs' is a plural noun and so we should never say "Clubs is trumps"; to do so would be to assume, unreasonably, that everybody would already know that, in this instance, the word 'Clubs' is being used as an abbreviated form of 'the Clubs suit'.

So I might accept that within a bridge club it might be acceptable to use the word 'Clubs' as such an abbreviated form, but I personally don't like it. And dm154 didn't place the question in any particular context.

BTW, I'm thinking of changing my ID to 'pedantic' because it SUITS me.

[Quizmonster]

Life really is too short to bother any more with this! Take your pick, Dml, but I can assure you that either is acceptable.

[jno]

England is a fine country.
England are a fine team.

Depends (as QM says) whether you're thinking of the word as meaning a single entity or individuals. With a pack of cards, who knows? Personally I'd say 'are', but it wouldn't have occurred to me that 'is' was wrong.

[dml54]

Thanks again to everyone for their replies. I personally say clubs are trumps, but was asked the question by my American cousin.