LoginCollective Nouns For Intermediate learners
Understand the concept and usage of collective nouns with examples like 'class', 'herd', and 'fleet'. Exercises provided to reinforce learning.
What Are Collective Nouns?
Collective nouns refer to a group or collection of people or things as a single unit.
Common Collective Nouns
In the list below, you can see some examples of common collective nouns:
Band
Gang
Class
Crowd
Team
Panel
Pack
Herd
Bunch
Bouquet
Tip!
While most collective nouns refer to groups of people, some can also refer to animals or objects:
Animals: herd, flock, pack
Things: bunch, bouquet
Collective Nouns: Singular or Plural?
Whether a collective noun is considered singular or plural depends on the context, and how we perceive the individuals in the group.
If we are considering them as a single unit, the collective noun is singular and should be paired with singular verbs and singular pronouns
The family still has its farm in the countryside.
However, if we are thinking of the individuals as separate entities, the collective noun is plural and should be paired with plural verbs and pronouns. For example:
The team are all wearing different jerseys.
Tip!
In American English, collective nouns are typically paired with singular verbs, while in British English, they are often paired with plural verbs.
The police are coming. (BrE)
The police is coming. (AmE)
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