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What are collective nouns? The meaning, usage and exercises
The collective noun is a common grammatical item in English that you should not overlook if you want to communicate effectively and achieve high scores in practical exams. What is a collective noun and how is it used? Let's explore the details in the following article with PREP!
I. Collective noun definition
The collective noun is a special type of noun in English that is used to refer to a group or collection of people or things as a single entity. Here are some collective nouns examples for your reference:
- The dead sheep was covered with swarms of flies. ➡ Swarm is a collective noun referring to animals.
- A flock of birds is circling overhead. ➡ A flock of birds is a collective noun referring to animals.
- The class takes its mid-term exam today. ➡ Class is a collective noun referring to people.
- Approval by the board of directors is required to implement the new strategy. ➡ A board of directors is a collective noun referring to people.
- They hope that these new drugs will make them piles of money. ➡ Pile is a collective noun referring to objects.
- A pair of shoes is under the bed. ➡ A pair of shoes is a collective noun referring to objects.
II. Collective noun categories
In English, there are four main types of collective nouns corresponding to four different groups of objects, including:
- Collective nouns for people
- Collective nouns for animals
- Collective nouns for objects
- Collective nouns for specific groups
However, there is a relatively large, diverse, and difficult-to-remember amount of collective nouns. Therefore, please refer to the following common collective noun list:
List of collective nouns in English | Pronunciation | Meaning | |
Collective nouns for people | Team | /tiːm/ | a group of people who play a particular game or sport against another group of people |
Family | /ˈfæm.əl.i/ | a group consisting of one or two parents and their children | |
Class | /klæs/ | a group of students who are taught together | |
Committee | /kəˈmɪt̬.i/ | a group of people who are chosen, usually by a larger group, to make decisions or to deal with a particular subject | |
Crowd | /kraʊd/ | a large number of people gathered together in a public place, for example in the streets or at a sports game | |
Crew | /kruː/ | all the people working on a ship, plane, etc. | |
Audience | /ˈɑː.di.əns/ | the group of people who have gathered to watch or listen to something (a play, concert, somebody speaking, etc.) | |
Gang | /ɡæŋ/ | an organized group of criminals | |
Group | /ɡruːp/ | a number of people or things that are together in the same place or that are connected in some way | |
Staff | /stæf/ | all the workers employed in an organization considered as a group | |
Choir | /ˈkwaɪər/ | a group of people who sing together, for example in church services or public performances | |
Orchestra | /ˈɔːrkɪstrə/ | a large group of people who play various musical instruments together, led by a conductor | |
Panel | /ˈpænl/ | a group of specialists who give their advice or opinion about something; a group of people who discuss topics of interest on television or radio | |
Board | /bɔːrd/ | a group of people who have power to make decisions and control a company or other organization | |
Troupe | /truːp/ | a group of actors, singers, etc. who work together | |
Company | /ˈkʌm.pə.ni/ | a business organization that makes money by producing or selling goods or services | |
Collective nouns for animals | Herd | /hɝːd/ | a group of animals of the same type that live and feed together |
Pack | /pæk/ | a group of animals that hunt together or are kept for hunting | |
Flock | /flɑːk/ | a group of sheep, goats or birds of the same type | |
Swarm | /swɔːm/ | a large group of insects, especially bees, moving together in the same direction | |
School | /skuːl/ | a large number of fish or other sea animals, swimming together | |
Troop | /truːp/ | A group of monkeys | |
Collective nouns for objects | Bunch | /bʌntʃ/ | a number of things of the same type fastened together or in a close group |
Pile | /paɪl/ | objects positioned one on top of another | |
Heap | /hiːp/ | an untidy pile or mass of things | |
Set | /set/ | a group of similar things that belong together in some way | |
Series | /ˈsɪriːz/ | a set of television or radio programmes or podcasts that deal with the same subject or that have the same characters | |
Furthermore, PREP also provides a compilation of 50+ collective noun phrases categorized clearly according to each group of objects. Please refer to the tables below:
1. Collective nouns for people
Collective noun phrase | Example |
An army/a troop of soldiers | An army of soldiers ran into the forest. |
A band of musicians | A band of musicians will perform at her birthday party. |
A bevy of ladies | A bevy of ladies is queuing in front of a cosmetics store. |
A board of directors | Anna currently works on a board of directors. |
A body of men | A body of men is transporting bulky goods. |
A bunch of crooks | Anna caught a bunch of crooks walking down the street. |
A caravan of gypsies | A caravan of gypsies is walking from India to Russia. |
A choir of singers | A choir of singers is performing at York church. |
A class of students | A class of students is trying on uniforms. |
A crowd of people | A crowd of people gathered on the road. |
A gang of thieves | A gang of thieves forced their way into a woman’s home and stole her car. |
A pack of thieves | They treated us like a pack of thieves. |
A panel of experts | A panel of experts is evaluating the quality of the new product. |
A team of players | It’s a team of players who would remain loyal if the club could afford to keep them. |
A troupe of dancers | A troupe of dancers from Thailand is one of the leading attractions in the festival. |
2. Collective nouns for animals
Collective noun phrase | Example |
An army of ants | An army of ants is parading across the path. |
A brood of chicks | The farmer called a veterinarian to treat a brood of sick chicks. |
A flock of birds/sheep | A flock of birds flew over the village. |
A herd of deer/elephant/cattle | A herd of deer is running through the highway. |
A hive of bees | I see a hive of bees on a star fruit tree. |
A litter of puppies/kittens | My Corgi dog just gave birth to a litter of puppies. |
A nest of mice | I saw a nest of mice in the backyard. |
A pack of hounds/wolves | A pack of hounds is chasing a wild boar. |
A plague of insects | A plague of insects flew into people’s houses because a big storm was about to hit. |
A pride of lions | I’m watching a documentary about the hunting behavior of a pride of lions. |
A school of fish | A school of fish is swimming in the lake. |
A swarm of locusts/bees/insects | A swarm of locusts destroyed the crops of my family. |
A team of horses | Alex’s ranch has a beautiful team of horses. |
A troop of monkeys | A troop of monkeys in the zoo is being fed by visitors. |
3. Collective nouns for objects
Collective noun phrase | Example |
A bar of chocolate/soap | I was rewarded with a bar of chocolate by the teacher when I had the correct answer. |
A blade of grass | There was not a breath of wind blowing, and not a leaf or blade of grass stirred. |
A bottle of water | I brought a bottle of water into the exam room. |
A bunch of flowers/grapes /bananas /keys | Chris sent me a bunch of flowers when I was sick. |
A bundle of vegetables/sticks/clothes | That bundle of vegetables is so fresh. |
A cloud of smoke | I see a purple cloud of smoke. |
A drop of rain | Suddenly, a drop of rain dropped on my face. |
A fall of snow/rain | There was a big fall of snow in Moscow. |
A fleet of ships | A fleet of ships was sunk. |
A forest of trees | The campsite is set in the middle of a forest of trees. |
A galaxy of stars | I’m watching a galaxy of stars on TV. |
A grain of sand | A grain of sand can get inside a mussel’s body. |
A pack of cards | The tarot is a pack of cards. |
A pair of shoes | Anna gave me a pair of shoes for my birthday. |
A range of mountains/hills | I saw a range of mountains when driving from Bao Loc to LangBiang. |
A wad of notes | I used a wad of notes to take note lessons. |
Flight of steps/stairs | That flight of steps leads down to the secret basement. |
4. Collective nouns for specific groups
Most collective nouns are common nouns. However, they can also function as proper nouns in cases where they are the names of a company/corporation/organization with more than one person, such as Apple, Samsung, FPT, Vingroup, WHO, UNICEF, WB, OPEC, etc. For example:
- Samsung is a Korean technology company. Samsung is a proper noun referring to the name of a company.
- WHO sponsored 10 doses of Botulinum antitoxin for Singapore. WHO is a proper noun referring to the name of an organization.
III. Subject-verb agreement for collective nouns
In many cases, you may encounter difficulty in determining whether a collective noun should be followed by a singular or plural verb. Let's compare the two examples below:
- The team is playing a volleyball match.
- The team are eating pizzas for lunch.
Both sentences use the collective noun "team," but the verb agreement is different in each sentence. From these examples, we can infer that "team" can be used with both singular and plural verbs.
To have a better understanding, let's explore the rules of combining collective nouns with verbs in the following sections with PREP!
1. Collective noun + singular verb
Collective nouns are considered singular, and the verb that follows them is also singular when the noun implies "a single entity." "A single entity" here refers to all members in the group performing the same action or each part of an object having the same characteristics and mode of operation. For example:
- The team is playing a volleyball match. All members of the team are playing the sport of volleyball, and no one is doing anything else.
- The herd is grazing quietly in the meadow. All animals in the herd are peacefully grazing in the meadow, and no animal is engaged in any other action.
2. Collective noun + plural verb
In addition to the previous case, an English collective noun can also be plural, and the verb that follows it is also in the plural form. This occurs when there are multiple individuals/objects within a group engaged in different actions or when there are multiple parts/characteristics with different modes of operation. For example:
- The team are eating pizzas for lunch. All members of the team are eating pizzas for lunch, but they may be eating different types of pizzas, such as chicken pizza, beef pizza, seafood pizza, etc.
- My family are predominantly blond-haired. Most members of my family have blond hair, but there are still a few individuals with different hair colors, such as black, brown, etc.
IV. Subject-verb agreement rules for collective nouns
Besides the general principles outlined earlier in PREP, it's important to grasp the guidelines for subject-verb agreement, especially when dealing with collective nouns.
| Case | Example |
1 | When referring to a collective entity, the verb and pronoun that follow should be in the third person singular. |
|
2 | When members within the same group are acting individually, the verb should be in the third person plural. |
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3 | For English noun phrases belonging to the categories of animals, plants, money, time, and measurement, even though the noun following the preposition "of" (e.g., an army of ants, a choir of singers, a forest of trees) is plural, the verb still takes the third person singular form. |
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4 | A number of vs the number of:
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5 | "A pair of... + singular verb" is used for objects consisting of two identical parts connected to each other, such as binoculars, scissors, glasses, binoculars, etc. "A pair of... + plural verb" is used for two people, objects, or animals that are paired or matched together. |
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V. Some notes on collective nouns
Here are some notes on the usage of English collective nouns:
- English collective nouns can be used with quantifying words to specify the number of members in a group. For example: Two herds of elephants are migrating across the savannah.
- English collective nouns can be used in both questions and negations. For example:
- A: Is the staff ready for the event?
- B: No, the staff is not available at the moment.
- English collective nouns can also be used with words indicating degree or intensity. For example: The crowd was extremely excited during the concert.
VI. Exercises on English collective nouns with detailed answers
To use English collective nouns proficiently, in addition to studying the theory, you also need to practice through exercises and apply this knowledge in daily communication. Challenge yourself with the following questions!
1. Exercise 1. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words
choir, pride, flock, bunch, crowd, troop, flight, band, swarm, litter |
- The cat has a ……………………. of five kittens.
- The ………………… of singers sang melodiously.
- The jungle safari gave us an opportunity to spot a ………………… of lions.
- The poachers were attacked by a ……………….. of wild elephants.
- A ………………… of bees forced us to take shelter in the cave.
- A ……………….. of stairs leads to the terrace.
- The ……………….. of musicians delivered a magical performance.
- The children were amused by the ………………. of monkeys in the park.
- A …………………. of grapes was hanging from the vine.
- A …………………. of people was cheering and urging her on all through the race.
2. Exercise 2: Choose the correct answer
- A …………………. of wolves roamed through the forest.
- Pack
- Troop
- Band
- Bunch
- A …………………. of fish swam gracefully in the ocean.
- Herd
- Swarm
- Choir
- School
- A …………………. of directors made an important decision.
- Board
- Pride
- Group
- Litter
- Oysters form a pearl around a …………………. of sand.
- Class
- Grain
- Pack
- Fleet
- A …………………. of lions is resting under the tree.
- Hive
- Pride
- Team
- Brood
3. Answer keys
Exercise 1:
1. litter | 2. choir | 3. pride | 4. herd | 5. swarm |
6. flight | 7. band | 8. troop | 9. bunch | 10. crowd |
Exercise 2:
- a
- d
- a
- b
- b
This article has provided necessary insight into collective nouns. Study the theory and practice exercises diligently to become proficient in using this grammar topic! Best wishes to all Preppies in achieving high scores in real exams such as IELTS, and TOEIC.
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