"A pair of carthorses was picking its way down the hill..."

"A pair of carthorses were picking their way down the hill..."

"A pair of carthorses was picking their way down the hill..."

I know which I think is grammatically correct, but none seems right.

Any ideas?

Emma

"A pair of carthorses were picking their way down the hill..."


Sounds right to me.

<Added>

Alternatively

"A pair of carthorses picked their way down the hill..."


<Added>

or even:

"A pair of carthorses carefully made their way down the hill..."

The first one looks technically correct to me, but doesn't sound quite right. What about 'Two carthorses were picking their way...'?

It's like that old joke: 'I'll have a mongoose please - no, make that two!'

The word 'carthorses' looks increasingly strange the longer you look at it.

I think 3 is definitely wrong, because one part of the sentence talks of the pair as a unit (which is correct IMV) and elsewhere you talk of them as separate.

I would say that 1 is technically correct but most people (including me) would say it sounds wrong (or ugly), and that 2 is what many people would feel was right but actually isn't.

If I really wanted to write this, I would avoid using 'pair', and instead say something like:

'Two carthorses were picking their way down the hill...'

Deb

Thanks, everyone. Nice to know it's not just me who's a bit stumped.

Yes, I think 1 is technically correct because 'a pair' is singular, but it does sound odd. 'a pair' is sort of singular, sort of plural, isn't it. I do want a pair because they're harnessed together and operating as a unit - which of course is the source of the trouble!

Emma

Definitely 1. Looks and sounds fine to me.

I'd wince at 'a pair...were.' That does look and sound ugly.
Is it because 'was' comes directly after 'carthorses' so at a glance it looks a little Cockerney?

It's fine. If you want 'a pair', I'd stick with 'was.'

I agree. 1 is definitely right and, to me, sounds fine. I think the slight oddity makes you 'see' the carthorses as harnessed - ie two creatures acting as one.
Susiex

It reminds me of the old joke. Pair of carthorses went into a pub. 'Why the long face(s)?' said the landlord.

Sorry.

Honestly, if it were me, I'd reword it so as to avoid the singular collective noun. I couldn't live with the plural verb and posessive because I'd know that 'pair' is singular - but the correct version sounds pedantic and lumpy. So I would spin round on the spot until I buried myself in the earth in the manner of Rumplestiltskin.

Rosy x

'A pair of soldiers shouldered its packs' doesn't work. 'A pair of doves flew into its cote' doesn't either, and in both cases the plural sits easily instead, even if it's not grammatical. Maybe its the idea of horses being referred to as a 'pair' colloquially, as if they're one unit, that makes this a tricky one. I'd go with 'were' and 'their' but can see that it feels odd to write ungrammatically. Tricky.

Pete

Finally tracked down my Fowler and looked it up. It says that in BrE (fight with US copy-editor obviously looming) you can give 'a pair of' either singular or plural verbs/pronouns etc., according to the principle of 'notional agreement'. Same principle as being able to say, 'The crowd were rushing' or 'The crowd was rushing'. Fowler's example is 'A pair of crocodiles was/were basking in the sun.'

So I can say 'A pair of carthorses were picking their way', which is what I would naturally say...

Thanks all for the input.

Emma

Very interesting - thanks for passing that on, Emma.

Deb