Collective Nouns—Definition, Exercises and Most Popular Examples

Collective nouns are nouns that describe collections of things. They’re usually formed by adding -s to the word “group” or “team.” For example, a group of people or animals is called a company and a group of people working together on something is called an army. Collective nouns can be used as subjects or objects in sentences and they can also be used like adjectives.

What Is a Collective Noun?

A collective noun is a noun that refers to a group of people or things. Examples include family, team and herd. Collective nouns can be singular or plural, depending on the number of individuals in that group.

Collective Nouns are often used in place names (such as “Lake Geneva”), but they are also commonly used in other ways like describing groups of people who work together on projects like an office staff meeting or an athletic team practice.

Collective Noun Definition

Collins Dictionary defines collective nouns as “a noun such as ‘team’ or ‘family’ that refers to a group of things or people” is called collective nouns. As Per Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a collective noun is defined as “a noun such as ‘team’ or ‘flock’ that refers to a group of people or things” is called collective nouns

How to Use Collective Nouns in a Sentence

Collective nouns are singular. They do not take a plural verb, and they do not take a singular or plural pronoun.

For example:

• We are talking about the members of our family.
• The members of our family will be visiting us soon.

Examples of collective nouns

Here are some examples of collective nouns in use:

– The team is ready for the big game.

– My friend’s family is full of characters.

– The class gathered around him.

– The company is losing money.

– The audience applauded him.

– The orchestra played beautifully.

– The club is having a bake sale this weekend.

– The jury was out for several hours.

– A committee was formed to investigate the incident.

– A family is a group of people or animals living together.

– A team is made up of two or more people who work together to achieve a goal.

– Classes can be organized by grade level (e.g., kindergarten, first grade), subject area (e.g., art class), type of school (public vs private) and more!

– Herds are made up of livestock such as sheep, cows or goats grazing on grassland habitat where they eat what grows there naturally through photosynthesis from sunlight hitting leaves on trees nearby—and then poop out fertilizer for healthier plants next season!

Tips for Using Collective Nouns

• Use collective nouns to describe groups of people or animals. These are not used to describe a single person or animal, but rather the group itself.
• Use the singular form of a collective noun when it refers to just one member of the group and not including other members. For example, if you’re talking about three friends who go camping together every year and have been doing so for years now, then they would be considered part of this particular trip (rather than referring to them collectively as “the trip”).
• When using multiple people or animals together in one sentence or paragraph, use plural pronouns such as “they” instead of simply adding an extra word before each member’s name: “They went camping yesterday.”

Top Most Popular Collective Nouns

1. The audience.
2. The band.
3. The board of directors.
4. The class.
5. The committee.
6. The community.
7. The country club.
8. The family.
9. The flock.
10. The government.
11. The group.
12. The jury.
13. The band of brothers (or sisters).

What Is the Difference Between a Singular and Plural Collective Noun?

A collective noun is a noun that refers to a group of people or things. Here we are showing difference between a singular and plural collective noun

Singular collective noun :

• Singular collective nouns are used to refer to the one thing that constitutes the group,
• A singular collective noun refers to a group of people who share a single characteristic. 

Singular Collective Noun Examples:

-The team

-The class

-The family

Plural collective noun:

• Plural collective nouns are used when there are two or more things included in the group.
• A plural collective noun refers to a collection of groups that have no shared characteristics.

Plural Collective Noun Examples:

-The teams

-The classes

-The families

When to Use a Singular or Plural Verb With a Collective Noun

Use of Singular Collective Noun

Collective nouns are words that describe a group of people or things. Examples of collective nouns include “team”, “family”, “group”, “class”, “crew”, “band”, “crowd”, etc.

When a collective noun is acting as a unit, you should use the singular verb.

When using a singular verb with a collective noun, the subject should always be in the singular.

Singular verbs are verbs that describe actions performed on one person or thing. Examples of singular verbs include “eat”, “drink”, “sleep”, “play”, “write”, “read”, etc.

Use of Plural Collective Noun

When the collective noun is being referred to as individuals, use the plural form.

When using a plural verb with a collective, the subject should always remain in the plural.

Plural verbs are verbs that describe activities performed on many people or things at once. Examples of plural verbs include “work”, “study”, “run”, “fight”, “sing”, “dance”, etc.

How to Make a Sentence With a Collective Noun Sound More Natural

• Use the word “is”
• Use the word “are”
• Use the word “were”

Conclusion

There are many collective nouns that can be used in a sentence. You can use them as part of an adjective, noun or verb. For example, you can use “group” as part of an adjective to describe something as: “This group is meeting for the first time today.” You could also use it as part of a noun by saying: “They’re having their annual meeting today”. And finally, collective nouns can also be used as verbs by saying things like “We’re going to have some fun!”

Frequently Asked Questions on Collective Nouns

What is the Definition of Collective Noun.

– Collins Dictionary defines collective nouns as “a noun such as ‘team’ or ‘family’ that refers to a group of things or people” is called collective nouns.

– As Per Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a collective noun is defined as “a noun such as ‘team’ or ‘flock’ that refers to a group of people or things” is called collective nouns.

Give Collective Nouns for People

• Committee
• Group
• Community
• Class
• Club
• Crew

Some Examples of Collective Nouns

• Animals: Herd, gaggle, pack, troop, pride; flock (of birds)
• People: Crowd, mob (of people), multitude (of people), tribe; crowd of onlookers is a collective noun for a group of spectators.
• Things: Brigade of soldiers is a collective noun for an army unit composed of several battalions or companies under one commander’s command; brigade may also refer to an entire army corps consisting of two or more brigades.