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Something wrong with BBC English?

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gijoedude
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Something wrong with BBC English? [#permalink] New post   11 Jul 2010, 15:37
I am reading BBC news about Spain's victory in the football world cup and the BBC says "Andres Iniesta scores with four minutes left in extra time to give Spain their first World Cup with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands."

Shouldn't it be "its" instead of their as Spain is only one country and there aren't multiple Spains? I saw some questions like this on the GMAT SC prep about this. But after reading this on BBC (I mean the Brits invented the language so I would assume the BBC would use proper English) I am confused. So is it "its" or "they"?

Help please!



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Re: Something wrong with BBC English? [#permalink] New post   12 Jul 2010, 03:32
gijoedude wrote:
I am reading BBC news about Spain's victory in the football world cup and the BBC says "Andres Iniesta scores with four minutes left in extra time to give Spain their first World Cup with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands."

Shouldn't it be "its" instead of their as Spain is only one country and there aren't multiple Spains? I saw some questions like this on the GMAT SC prep about this. But after reading this on BBC (I mean the Brits invented the language so I would assume the BBC would use proper English) I am confused. So is it "its" or "they"?

Help please!


Personally, I would use 'they' . Also confirmed with a Brit sitting next to me though I have seen 'its' being used.
Isn't it a case similar to 'Police are looking...' or 'Police is looking...' ?
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Re: Something wrong with BBC English? [#permalink] New post   18 Jul 2010, 08:39
The possessive pronoun "its" is correct in this case, but "their" is commonly used. It's incorrect, but little things like this are so prevalent in colloquial speech. Nobody actually cares in an informal setting, but it's important during tests, interviews, and essays to speak and write correctly. :wink:

My favorite is "y'all," which is an abbreviation for "you all." This originated in the southern United States. I'm not sure how widespread it has become. Have you ever heard or seen it before?
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Re: Something wrong with BBC English? [#permalink] New post   18 Jul 2010, 21:02
BMillion01 is correct...here's some nuance:
Yes, it's technically supposed to be "its" when referring to Spain as a country. Commonly in speech, Spain in this sentence references the people of Spain....in which case "theirs" is what they were trying to get it.

But "the people of spain" was never explicitly stated in the sentence, so technically "its" is the correct expression to use.



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Re: Something wrong with BBC English? [#permalink]
18 Jul 2010, 21:02
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