Political Party vs Parties: When to Use Singular or Plural

When you write about government groups, you’ll often wonder whether to say political party is a single organization that fields candidates or political parties when you’re talking about several of them. The choice changes the verb you use, the meaning you convey, and how readers understand your sentence. Below we unpack the grammar, show real‑world examples, and give a checklist so you never get stuck again.

Quick Takeaways

• Use political party (singular) when referring to one organization.
• Use political parties (plural) when you mean two or more separate organizations.
• If you’re discussing the concept of parties in general, a plural form often feels natural, but a singular "the political party" can work when you treat the idea as a collective entity.
• Match the verb to the subject: singular → "is", plural → "are".
• Watch for modifiers like "the" or "many" that tip the scale toward singular or plural.

Now let’s dive deeper.

Understanding the Core Entities

In English grammar, a collective noun represents a group acting as a single unit (e.g., "team", "committee"). "Political party" can function as a collective noun, but it also behaves like any regular noun that can be counted.

Other key entities that shape the decision include:

• plural form - adds an "s" or another plural marker to a noun.
• singular form - the base form referring to one item.
• subject-verb agreement - the rule that the verb must match the subject in number.
• determiner - words like "the", "a", "many", "several" that signal number.
• usage guide - style references such as the Chicago Manual of Style or Merriam‑Webster guidelines.

Singular vs. Plural: The Rulebook

1. One organization, one name: When you talk about a single party (e.g., Labour Party, National Party), keep it singular.
   • Example: "The political party is launching a new policy platform."
2. More than one organization: Use the plural "political parties".
   • Example: "All political parties are required to file financial disclosures."
3. Talking about the concept as a whole: Both singular and plural can work, but the nuance changes.
   • Singular: Treats "party" as an abstract entity - "The political party has shaped national identity for decades."
   • Plural: Emphasizes diversity - "Political parties reflect a range of societal interests."
4. Collective‑noun trick: Some writers treat "party" as a collective noun that takes a singular verb even when referring to multiple parties acting as a bloc. This is rare and usually avoided in formal writing.
   • Better: "The coalition of political parties is negotiating a budget."

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Even seasoned writers slip up. Here are the usual traps:

• Misreading "the" as a singular cue. "The political parties" still needs a plural verb because "the" is just a determiner, not a number.
• Confusing "party" with "parties" in idioms. Phrases like "the party of the people" are singular even though they sound plural.
• Forgetting number after parentheticals. "The two main parties (the Labour and the National) are" - the verb follows the main subject "parties".

Quick Reference Table

Checklist: Do You Have the Right Number?

• Identify how many distinct parties you’re referencing.
• Look for quantifiers: "one", "two", "many", "several".
• Decide if you mean the abstract idea (singular) or the collection (plural).
• Match your verb accordingly.
• Read the sentence aloud; if it sounds off, the number is likely mismatched.

Real‑World Examples from News and Academia

In the 2023 New Zealand election coverage, headlines read:

• "Labour Partywinsasecondterm" - singular because it refers to Labour alone.
• "Political partiesclashover climate policy" - plural, covering all parties.

Academic papers often use the singular form to discuss the institution of party politics: "The political party functions as a conduit for citizen representation." Here the author treats the party system as a single conceptual entity.

When to Ask a Grammar Expert

If you’re drafting a legal document, policy brief, or academic manuscript, a single misuse can affect credibility. In those cases, run the sentence through a style guide or ask a copy editor. Tools like Grammarly flag subject‑verb disagreement, but they may not catch nuanced collective‑noun decisions, so a human eye is still valuable.

Next Steps for Writers

After reading this guide, you should:

1. Identify the number of parties you’re referring to.
2. Choose singular or plural based on the context guidelines above.
3. Adjust the verb to match.
4. Run a quick read‑aloud check.
5. If in doubt, rewrite the sentence to avoid ambiguity (e.g., "The coalition of parties" instead of "political parties").

Practice with these sentences:

• "_____ (Political party / Political parties) _____ (has / have) a clear stance on taxation."
• "_____ (The political party / Political parties) _____ (is / are) expected to form a coalition after the election."

Fill in the blanks and you’ll see the rule in action.