Introduction
Collective nouns are words that describe a group of people, animals, or objects but they are treated as a single unit. They’re often used in British English but can be found in other dialects as well.
What are collective nouns?
Collective nouns are words that describe a group of people, animals, or objects. For example, the word “team” is a collective noun describing a group of people working together towards a common goal. They’re often used in British English but can be found in other dialects as well. For example:
- family
- team (sports)
- flock (birds)
Collective nouns are not always plural. For example: * deer and deer could be referred to as one deer but have different meanings depending on how they’re used in conversation. If you say “I saw two deer” then this means that there were two deer present at the time of your sighting and not just one individual animal; if you say “I saw three deers,” however, then it’s clear that you’re referring back specifically to three individual animals—not an overall count of all creatures who share this name with us, humans!
List of Common Collective Nouns
- Plants: tribe (bamboo), flock (flowers), stand (trees), bouquet (roses) crop (of vegetables or fruit).
- animals – herd, flock, the herd of sheep, the flock of geese.
- people – group, crowd.
- objects (things) – group or collection of things or items with no distinguishable characteristics that belong together and form an entity; this includes trees/trees in general (such as “a tree”), but also includes groups within larger groups such as the trees at our local park! You could say you went for a walk on your own or with friends; however, you would be referring specifically to one particular gathering where everyone was together at once like an assembly meeting or something similar.”
Proper Nouns as Collective Nouns
In general, proper nouns can be used as collective nouns. These are nouns that refer to specific groups of people or things that have a name, such as:
-Aboriginal people (in Australia)
-Australian Government (the Australian government)
-Congress/Congressmen (the US congress/congressmen)
Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, or things. They can be singular (like “John”) or plural (like “the Johns”). Collective nouns, on the other hand, are used to refer to groups of people or animals; they’re singular in form but often take plural verbs:
- A committee is a group of members working together toward a common goal.
- The crowd gathered outside City Hall at noon for the Pope’s Mass.
Is a Collective Noun Singular or Plural?
Collective nouns are singular. They’re often used to refer to groups of people or things in general, such as “the crowd” or “the herd.” You need to know whether the group of people is acting as a unit or not. If it’s acting as one, then the noun is singular and takes a singular verb: The committee has decided on a new policy. The crowd shouted for more popcorn at intermission. If it isn’t acting as one, then use a plural verb:
However, there are also some collective nouns that can be used for either singular or plural objects. For example:
- The crowd (singular) is a large gathering of people who all have the same goal in mind.
- The herd (plural) is a group of animals moving together as one unit toward their destination without stopping for rest along the way.
Collective nouns Examples:
The audience, the board, the class, the congregation, the crowd, the family, the flock, the gaggle, the herd, the jury, the mob, the team, etc.
Some common collective nouns
There are some common collective nouns. For example, a crowd of people is a group that includes more than one individual. A group of people can also be called a company or a squadron—and these terms are interchangeable with “group”. As an alternative to these words, you could also say “a large number” or “an enormous number” instead of “many” when referring to the size or quantity of something (e.g., “there were many people at the party”).
How to choose the correct verb with collective nouns
Using collective nouns as verbs is a little tricky. The verb should be singular when the collective noun is acting as a single unit and plural when it’s acting as a separate unit. For example, if you’re talking about “a group of people,” then use the singular verb: “I was with them.” But if you’re talking about “a bunch of dogs,” then use the plural verb: “We had so many dogs.”
Another way to remember this rule is by thinking of how we usually use words like “group” or “class.” These words usually refer to groups of people or things that are alike in some way (e.g., a group of friends), but they don’t always have to be singular because there can be multiple groups within one entity (e.g., your school has two classes—the freshmen class and seniors).
Conclusion
The most important thing to remember about collective nouns is that they can be singular or plural. You use a singular verb with a singular collective noun, and you use a plural verb with a plural collective noun. For example: “The group is expensive.” Or: “Groups are expensive.”
