Collective nouns

We may not realize, but we use collective nouns in our daily life. Collective nouns are nouns which are used to name a group of things. That’s what its name suggests collective meaning a group. And noun meaning the name of a thing. Collective nouns can be the name of a group of animals, human beings, things etc.

Examples of collective nouns used for people 

• Gang 
• Class
• Team 
• Jury 
• Community
• Crowd
• Staff
• Band 
• caravan 

Examples in sentences 

• A gang of thieves robbed the state bank yesterday.
• Our class will visit Sindh museum tomorrow.
• The football team of our school played fantastic yesterday.
• A jury is a group of twelve people.
• The debate community of our school have 16 members. 
• The crowd was huge at the concert.
• The staff of our school was on leave yesterday.
• The sketches band is my favorite.
• The caravan was robbed by gangsters.

Examples of collective nouns used for animals 

• Flock
• Herd 
• Litter 
• Hive
• Ambush
• Memory 
• Skulk
• Hover

Examples in sentences 

• Every flock of sheep have a dog to guard them.
• I saw a herd of more than 100 cows yesterday.
• I saw a litter of adorable puppies.
• A beehive attacked us last night. 
• An ambush of tigers attacked the cows.
• A memory of elephants destroyed the whole farm.
• I saw skulk of foxes at the zoo
• Their was a hover of trout in the river.

Examples of collective nouns used for things

• Pair 
• Dozens 
• Pack
• Forest 
• Bouquet
• Ream 
• Bundle 
• Set
• Bunch 

Examples in sentences 

• I bought a pair of Jordan’s yesterday.
• A dozen of eggs fell from a basket yesterday.
• I sold a pack of pencils to my cousin.
• The amazon forest caught on fire in 2020.
• We usually take a bouquet with us when we visit a sick person.
• I bought a ream of papers from Walmart.
• We collected a bundle of sticks for the born fire.
• I ordered a set of weights.
• I picked a bunch of fresh grapes from the farm.

Proper Nouns as Collective Nouns 

A lot of common nouns are collective nouns but, a lot of proper nouns can be collective nouns as well. i.e. organization, community, or a company merely a group of more than one.

For example:

• Apple 
• Sony 
• Microsoft 
• WHO

Examples in sentences 

• The apple company launches a new product every year. 
• The Sony company has gone bankrupt.
• Bill gates own the Microsoft company. 
• WHO has ordered to follow strict safety precautions.

Are collective nouns singular or plural?

It depends on how one sees the individuals working in the group. If one considers them acting together, then we treat that collective noun as a singular noun. If one considers them acting individually, then we treat that collective noun as a plural noun.

Example: 

Jury

• The jury has given its decision 

Here the collective noun jury is being treated as a singular noun

• The jury has not given its decision because they are still discussing among themselves

Here the collective noun jury is being treated as a plural noun.

How to use singular and plural linking verbs with collective nouns? 

The use of the verb depends on the collective noun if the collective noun is being treated as a singular noun we use singular verbs with them. If the collective noun is being treated as a plural noun, we use a plural verb with that.

Example:  (Here singular verbs are used with collective nouns) 

• The flock of sheep is running in every direction 
• The football team is celebrating their victory.
• The debate community was upset.
• The group was told to leave the class.
• The family was happy about buying a new house 

(Here plural verbs are used with collective nouns)

• The flocks of sheep are running in every direction.
• The football teams are celebrating their victory.
• The debate communities were upset.
• The groups were told to leave the class.
• The families were happy for buying new houses.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned that collective nouns are an essential part of writing. Collective nouns are the name of a group of anything. They can be used as singular and plural, depending on the writer. We also learned that we have to use singular verbs with singular nouns and plural verbs with plural nouns.