Stamps, subjects and verbs

The Post Office released the “Early TV Memories” stamps yesterday and I got my first sheet of them this morning.

I collected stamps when I was a kid and I learned a lot about world geography, history and culture from the hobby. Consequently, I’m probably more alert to stamps in general and new releases in particular than the average postal patron.

I noticed this set early this year on a poster of upcoming new stamps displayed at my local post office. I have fond memories of 1950s TV, especially Hopalong Cassidy, so I had my calendar marked for the Aug. 11 release.

Checking the U.S. Postal Service web site, I found the official press release for the “Early TV Memories” stamps and this interesting quote:

“All of the classic television shows represented on these stamps represents the collective memory of a generation well deserving of entertainment,” said U.S. Postal Service Board of Governor member James C. Miller III in dedicating the stamps.

Jim Miller, it seems, has trouble getting his verbs to agree with his subjects.

If Jim remembered his basic grammar and were to diagram that sentence, he would discover that “All” is the subject. All is a collective noun and, therefore, requires a plural verb, i.e. “represent,” not “represents.” (Unless he is lapsing into Ebonics, in which case all bets are off. And never mind that the rest of the sentence is pretty much gibberish.)

There is a disturbing trend, especially in broadcasting, to make the verb agree with the most recent noun in a sentence rather than the actual subject. That has me shouting at my TV and XM radio so often it’s beginning to worry my dogs.

But that isn’t what’s happening here because both of the other noun choices preceding the verb are also plural: “shows” and “stamps.”

So we are left to wonder whether Jim Miller is an inarticulate boob or the victim of a misquote or a typographical error. Either way, the U.S. Postal Service should know better.

Oh, yeah. I forgot. The government runs the Post Office. The same government that wants to run my healthcare and throw my money at the phony human-caused global warming issue.

Never mind, Jim. Just never mind.