Can "has" replace "have"?

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On Thursday, the police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that about S$6.7 million (US$5.1 million) have been lost to government official impersonation scammers in September, with at least 100 reported cases.

Can "has" replace "have"?

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@tanguatlay,

I don't think they are interchangeable.

“Have been” is used with plural subjects and the pronouns I, we, and they.

Example: Millions have been lost.

On Thursday, the police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that about 6.7 million SGD dollars ($5.1 million US dollars) have been lost to government official impersonation scammers in September, with at least 100 reported cases.

“Has been” is used with singular subjects (he, she, it)

Example: If you want to know what happened to the money, It has been lost to government official impersonation scammers in September, with at least 100 reported cases.

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@hightor,

I respectfully disagree. Million is a collective noun and, as such, is thought to be single. In which case, using the choice of has would be appropriate. The OP uses the word million, not millions.

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@hightor,

Quote:

Have Been vs. Has Been vs. Had Been: How to Use Each One Correctly
The verb phrases have been, has been, and had been all have closely related meanings. That similarity may at times lead to confusion about the right time to use each construction.

In today’s review we will discuss the differences among the phrases so you can use each one correctly when you are speaking or writing.

When and How to Use Have Been or Has Been
Have been and has been are verb constructions that are used in the present perfect tense and the present perfect progressive tense.

The present perfect tense identifies an action or a state that took place at an unspecified time in the past. The present perfect progressive expresses an ongoing activity that started in the past and continues into the present.

Examples

I have been to that city. (present perfect)

Shane has not been working on the tractor of late. (present perfect progressive)

We would use have been when the sentence subject is I, you, we, or the third-person plural (the children have been studying grammar all morning; they have been studying all morning).

If the sentence subject is a third-person singular noun (he, she, it, Courtney), we would use the phrase has been.

Examples

Courtney has been a team leader before. (present perfect)

It has been drifting through my mind lately. (present perfect progressive)

As you can see, have been and has been have the same related usage and meaning. The main difference between them is the form that is determined by the subject performing the action.

They said 15 dollars have been derived from the escamotage.

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@Ragman,

Yes, I thought of that. But when I see "$6.7 million" I read it as 6.7 million dollars and dollars is plural. It's not just "million" by itself. But in a similar construction, if I leave out the dollar sign, "6.7 million has been lost" would be correct.

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@hightor,

I still feel the collective applies. In my mind the preceding “understood phrase is “the quantity of (or amount of … $ 6.7 million). It is not implying a plural but a collective lump sum…which would be singular.

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@Ragman,

You are correct:

Quote:

2. Use singular verbs with specific amounts of money even if they include symbols that are read or spoken as plural words:

During this exclusive offer, $25 secures your authentic collectible coin commemorating the great proofreaders of the world. Call now! (Instead of “$25 secure…”)

Today, $5,000 was raised for the local animal shelter. (Instead of “$5,000 were…) source

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