Talking about Sports Teams

We usually use the plural form of the be verb to talk about a team name that includes a plural noun.

當球隊名稱包含複數名詞時，我們通常使用 be 動詞的複數形式來描述它。

David Siren wrote this about the Packers in the New Yorker magazine.

大衛·西倫在《紐約客》雜誌上曾這樣寫道關於包裝工隊的事。

The Packers are owned by the fans.

包裝工隊由球迷擁有。

In this sentence, the third person plural verb form are agrees with the plural noun Packers.

在這個句子中，第三人稱複數動詞形式 are 與複數名詞 Packers 一致。

When we simply use the word team, we are using a collective noun.

當我們單純使用「team」這個詞時，我們使用的是集合名詞。

A collective noun refers to a number of people, but we usually treat it like a singular noun.

集合名詞指一群人，但我們通常將其視為單數名詞處理。

Other collective nouns include audience, government, committee, and staff.

其他集合名詞包括觀眾、政府、委員會和員工。

That is why you would expect most Americans to say, "His team is playing well this season."

這就是為什麼大多數美國人會說：「他的球隊本賽季表現出色。」的原因。

But English speakers in other countries often treat collective nouns as plural nouns.

但其他國家的英語使用者經常將集合名詞視為複數名詞。

People in Britain and Ireland, for example, might instead say, "His team are playing well this season."

例如，英國和愛爾蘭的人可能會改說：「他的球隊本賽季表現出色。」

Sometimes Americans talk or write about a sports team without using the team's actual name.

有時美國人在談論或撰寫體育球隊時，並未使用球隊的實際名稱。

Instead, they refer to the team by the city they represent.

相反，他們以球隊所代表的城市來稱呼該隊。

Here's an example of what we mean from Wikipedia.

以下是來自維基百科的範例，說明我們所指的意思。

Green Bay is the third oldest team in the National Football League.

綠灣國家橄欖球聯盟中歷史第三悠久的球隊。

The be verb is singular, is, because the city name Green Bay is a singular noun.

be 動詞使用單數形式 is，因為城市名稱「綠灣」是單數名詞。

We can write the structure like this: plural noun plus third person plural verb form, singular or collective noun plus third person singular verb form.

我們可以將此結構寫作：複數名詞加上第三人稱複數動詞形式，或單數/集合名詞加上第三人稱單數動詞形式。

Many American sports teams have plural names like the Kansas City Chiefs, the Detroit Lions, and the New England Patriots.

許多美國體育球隊擁有複數名稱，例如堪薩斯城酋長隊、底特律雄獅隊和新英格蘭愛國者隊。

These names are all count nouns.

這些名稱都是可數名詞。

But some teams have names that are non-count or mass nouns.

但有些球隊的名詞是不可數名詞或物質名詞。

They include the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

其中包括國家籃球協會的邁阿密熱火隊、奧蘭多魔術隊以及俄克拉荷馬城雷霆隊。

This is where things get a little tricky.

這裡情況變得有點複雜。

Let's use the Orlando Magic as an example.

讓我們以奧蘭多魔術隊為例。

The word magic is a non-count noun.

「magic」一詞是不可數名詞。

Magic is a power that lets someone do impossible things by saying special words or performing special actions.

魔法是一種力量，能讓人透過說出特殊咒語或執行特殊動作來完成不可能之事。

When we talk about magic, we use singular verb forms.

當我們談論魔法時，我們使用單數動詞形式。

But in the case of the Orlando Magic basketball team, some sports writers treat the noncount noun team name as a plural.

但在奧蘭多魔術籃球隊的情況下，一些體育記者將這個不可數名詞的球隊名稱視為複數。

For example, the Orlando Magic official website says, "The Orlando Magic are one of the only two teams to beat the Chicago Bulls in a playoff series in the 1990s."

例如，奧蘭多魔術隊的官方網站表示：「奧蘭多魔術隊是九零年代唯一兩支在季後賽系列賽中擊敗芝加哥公牛隊的球隊之一。」

Note the use of the third person plural verb form of be.

請注意使用了 be 動詞的第三人稱複數形式。

Now let's travel outside of the United States to see how other sports teams are discussed.

現在讓我們走訪美國以外，看看其他國家的體育球隊是如何被討論的。

Teams in the Union of European Football Associations, or UEFA, are often named after the city that sponsors them.

歐洲足球協會聯盟（UEFA）的球隊通常以其贊助城市命名。

But Real Madrid is a little different.

但皇家馬德里略有不同。

The team got the approval of King Alfonso the Thirteenth of Spain in nineteen twenty and can use the Spanish word for royal.

該球隊於一九二零年獲得西班牙阿方索十三世國王的批准，得以使用西班牙語中意為「皇家」的字眼。

Sports writer Manuel Esposito wrote on Soccer Feet.

體育作家曼努埃爾·埃斯波西托在《足球腳》網站上撰文。

Real Madrid is known for attracting the world's best players.

皇家馬德里以吸引全球頂尖球員聞名。

The Athletic Club of Bilbao is another UEFA team.

畢爾包競技俱樂部是另一支歐足聯球隊。

In a recent story for ESPN, British reporter Sid Lowe followed the British English preference of making collective nouns plural.

英國記者席德·洛威在近期為 ESPN 撰寫的一篇報導中，採用了英式英語將集體名詞視為複數的用法。

Athletic are a unique club, famously following a policy of playing only with Basque players.

畢爾包是一支獨特的俱樂部，以僅徵召巴斯克籍球員的政策而聞名。

Coming back to the United States, a lot of people in the sports world this week are talking about star basketball player Caitlin Clark.

回到美國，本週體育界許多人都在討論明星籃球選手凱特琳·克拉克。

During her college career at the University of Iowa, she broke the all-time scoring record for men and women.

她在愛荷華大學就讀期間，打破了男女球員的歷史總得分紀錄。

Now, she is going professional.

如今，她即將轉戰職業賽場。

Look at how sportswriters talked about her new professional basketball team.

來看看體育記者們如何描述她的新職業籃球隊。

On Monday, the Women's National Basketball Association held their yearly event in which teams can pick players for the upcoming season.

週一，美國女子職業籃球協會（WNBA）舉辦了年度選秀活動，各隊可在此挑選來季球員。

The WNBA team from the state of Indiana, Indiana Fever, got the chance to pick first.

來自印第安納州的 WNBA 球隊「印第安納狂熱」獲得了優先選拔權。

Not surprisingly, the team chose Clark.

不出所料，該隊選擇了克拉克。

The team's website announced the news like this: "Indiana Fever select Caitlin Clark with number one overall pick in 2024 WNBA draft."

球隊官網如此宣布這一消息：「印第安納狂熱隊於 2024 年 WNBA 選秀中以第一順位選中凱特琳·克拉克。」

Yet the WNBA announced it this way.

然而，WNBA 的官方公告卻這樣寫道。

Indiana Fever selects Caitlin Clark with first overall pick in WNBA draft 2024.

印第安納狂熱隊於 2024 年 WNBA 選秀中以第一順位選中凱特琳·克拉克。

Here is a quiz question for you.

這裡有一個小測驗題要考考你。

If the team name Indiana Fever is a collective noun, which sentence is correct according to American English?

如果「印第安納狂熱」是一個集體名詞，根據美式英語，哪一句是正確的？

When you answer, tell us about your favorite sports team.

作答時，請告訴我們你最喜愛的運動隊伍。

Write a sentence or two using the team's name, and let us know if the name is a count noun or a collective noun.

請用一到兩個句子描述該隊伍的名稱，並說明這個名稱是可數名詞還是集體名詞。

And that's Everyday Grammar.

以上就是《每日語法》節目。

I'm Jill Robbins.

我是吉兒·羅賓斯。