5. Collective Nouns

Companies and other commercial organisations are single entities, yet a common mistake in corporate communications is for businesses to refer to themselves in the plural, as in: ‘Bloggs & Co are proud to present a new range of lawnmowers . . .’

The same goes for departments, teams and other business units. The correct use should be: ‘Marketing is recruiting four new members of staff’; ‘The project team is about to make an important announcement’. Note, however, that: ‘Members of the project team are expecting an important announcement.’