Singular Nouns Treated as Plural
Some singular nouns can be used with either a singular or plural verb. The commonest of these are the collective nouns which stand for a group or collection of people or things. These include words such as audience, committee, crew, family, government, group, team, and many others. So, both these sentences are correct:
✓ The government is doing a good job.
✓ The government are doing a good job.
But you shouldn’t switch from singular to plural. For example:
✗ The government is doing a good job. They are responding to the situation effectively.
✗ The government are doing a good job. It is responding to the situation effectively.
