The police are talking to the owner OR The police is talking to the owner?

Question

my teacer said that if I write the "if" infront of police it should be 'are' , I am thinking it is a group so it should be is. and if I write A police is talking.. tat is surely incorrect .. right ?

When you answer please give some explanation. or rule

IGNORE ALL THE DETAILS THEY ARE TYPED WRONGLY. the teacher talked about the "the" nothing about 'if'

Answer 1

Definitely "The police ARE talking".
"The police" belongs to the "collective" nouns together with "the clergy, the cattle, the livestock, the military, the people of (a country), etc." which are ALWAYS followed by a PLURAL verb.
On the other hand, some "collective" nouns, like "family, committee, team, government, audience, army, etc." can be followed by either a singular (is) or plural (are) verb. A SINGULAR verb is used when we think of a group of people as a SINGLE UNIT. A PLURAL verb is used when we think of a group of people as a NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS.
You can never use "a police", just "the police" is correct.

Answer 2

The sentence should be:

The police is talking to the owner.

Because in this case, "police" can be considered as a collective noun.

However, the case would be different if the word "police" is going to be changed to "policemen" where the noun has already became plural so "are" should be used instead of "is".

Answer 3

The problem with collective nouns is that they can be used with both singular and plural verbs, depending on the context. "The police are" is a perfectly correct construction. The police are responsible for keeping the streets safe. The police are hosting a fundraiser. The list goes on.

Answer 4

The police are talking.

"I remind the Minister of yesterday's exchange in the House on police funding. Without detaining the House too long, I remind her that the police are talking about the need for adequate resourcing."

British House of Commons - Hansard
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo010719/debtext/10719-21.htm

Surprisingly though, the use of 'the police is' seems to increase the farther south you go in the United States.

Willamette Week Online

"But what the Food Police is talking about is artificial trans fat, which is created by forcing hydrogen into a vat of liquid vegetable oil. "

http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3251/8141/

P.S. 'You all is destroying the English language.'
(HINT: should be are.)

Answer 5

In Ontario the police take a seat around the line from the tavern in unmarked police vehicles & look ahead to the 1st man or woman to return out & get into their motor vehicle. in the event that they have the keys of their hand while they enter the motor vehicle they get charged with care & administration for having the keys at their attain mutually as contained in the motor vehicle. in the event that they initiate the motor vehicle its a dui. i think of the bar might desire to be held in charge additionally for serving a man or woman to the element of intoxication just to make money.they do no longer seem to be exhibiting project for harmless people who might get injury with the aid of fact of those movements & neither is the guy who chooses tochronic. in the event that they get sufficient calls on what is going on on the bar there could be police presence outdoors the bar to ascertain this does not ensue. there is not any settlement between the tavern & the police. they might have a scarcity of cops contained in the section yet while police are counseled they are going to deliver a police officer to that section.

Answer 6

The police are a group as is the army so its plural.
A policeman is singular as is a soldier

The police are talking to the owner
The policeman is talking to the owner

Answer 7

is
it is a single unit.

Microsoft is....
The army is....
The union is...
The world summit is....
The G8 is....

The police is coming: refers to the police as an institutional whole.
The policemen are coming: refers to the individual cops coming.

One shouldn't say the police are are coming. It is just that over time the individual has become mixed with the whole. Example: The police make up the police whereas soldiers make up the army.
Police is...
Army is....
Plolicemen are...
Soldiers are....

Hope that helps.

Answer 8

THE POLICE IS A COLECTIVE NOUN. JUST LIKE THE ARMY, OR THE GROUP ETC. IT IS USED WITH SINGULAR ONLY. SO THE RIGHT ANSWER IS THE POLICE IS TALKING TO THE OWNER.

Answer 9

The police is talking to the owner,I guess.
Because you could say "The POLICEMEN are talking to the owner."