It depends. “Government?and several other collective nouns—such as
“audience,?“committee,?“crew,?“jury,?and “team”—sometimes take a
singular verb and sometimes take a plural verb.
One consideration is where you are. In England, they often say “the
government are.?In North America, they say “the government is.?These
nouns tend to take a plural verb in British English, and a singular
verb in American English.
A stronger factor, however, is what you are thinking: are you thinking
of the government (or another collective noun) as one unit, as a whole
group? If so, the pronouns, possessives and verbs referring to the noun
are singular:
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(a)
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The government is not having much success in
promoting its anti-litter campaign.
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(b)
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The committee has only three more weeks to finish
its investigation.
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Are you thinking more of the individuals who make up the group? In
that case, you are thinking in a more personal way, and the pronouns,
possessives and verbs referring to the noun are plural:
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(c)
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The government—all they want is to make a fast
buck.
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(d)
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The committee are going to investigate the matter
in their own time.
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