erich musick's blog

It seems that the CNN editors could use a good lesson in English subject-verb agreement rules. In a recent article about a New York couple who wants to take a cab to Arizona, they made a significant error.

(Click for larger image)

Note the line, "The couple don't drive and don't want to put their cats on a plane." Although "the couple" consists of two individuals (presumably made one through the union of marriage), the noun is singular and used in the third person. However, "do not" is not the proper form for the third person singular. Rather, "does not" is the proper third-person singular form. Thus, the article should read, "The couple does not want..." or "The two don't want..."