Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are names for a collection or a number of people or things. Words like group, herd, and array are collective noun examples. Here, we’ll take a closer look at collective nouns, and provide even more examples, placing them in context so you can gain a greater understanding of how they work.

What is a Collective Noun

You might not know it, but you encounter collective nouns in everyday speech. Collective nouns are words for single things that are made up of more than one person, animal, place, thing, or idea. You can’t have a team without individual members; even so, we discuss a team as a single entity.

Collective Noun Examples

Remember that nouns are words naming people, animals, places, and things. Collective nouns are in a class all their own. Once you’ve read these examples, you’ll find it much easier to recognize collective nouns when you see them.

• Our class took a field trip to the natural history museum.
• The herd of bison ran across the prairie, leaving a massive dust cloud in its wake.
• We waited anxiously for the jury to come to a verdict.
• This year’s basketball team includes three players who are over six feet tall.
• Napoleon’s army was finally defeated at Waterloo.
• The town council has approved plans to create a new park.
• He comes from a huge family: he’s the oldest of eleven kids.
• The rock group has been on tour for months.
• Everyone in the audience applauded loudly when Elvis appeared on stage.

How to Use Collective Nouns

People who are new to writing often encounter some trouble with sentence agreement when using collective nouns. This is understandable, because a collective noun can be singular or plural, depending on a sentence’s context. How do you know if a collective noun is singular? How can you tell if it’s plural? What pronouns and verbs are best for pairing with the collective noun you’ve chosen?

Here’s a simple trick you can use to decide how to use collective nouns in sentences: Imagine a herd of zebras grazing peacefully on the savanna. Suddenly, a lion jumps out of a clump of tall grass. What do the zebras do? They run away as a single unit as they attempt to make a getaway, galloping across the savanna in the same direction.

Often, people behave in the same way, engaging in a single activity in unison with everyone else in their group. When individuals are in a team, a choir, a committee, or part of any other collective noun, that noun is singular and is paired with singular pronouns and singular verbs. As you read the examples that follow, notice that each individual who is part of the collective noun is doing the same action at the same time as others who are part of that collective noun.

Collective Noun Exercises

Each of these sentences contains a collective noun. Select the correct answer from the options that follow the sentence:

1. Keys, marbles, and rubber bands were just a few of the things in the pile of objects in his drawer.
   A – marbles, B – things, C – pile
2. The boys decided to join the navy after graduation.
   A – boys, B – navy, C – graduation
3. After the performance, all the actors joined hands and bowed toward the audience.
   A – performance, B – actors, C – audience
4. The team celebrated heartily after scoring a winning goal.
   A – team, B – winning, C – goal
5. Most of the students on the council are also on the honor roll.
   A – students, B – council, C, – honor roll
6. The boat’s crew worked all night to stop the leak.
   A – boat’s, B – crew, C – leak
7. The talent show featured several individual performers, along with three bands.
   A – show, B – performers, C – bands
8. Our extended family includes great-grandparents and second cousins.
   A – family, B – great-grandparents, C – cousins
9. All of the students are attending a school assembly on Friday.
   A – students, B – school, C – assembly
10. The senate will be voting on three education funding bills tomorrow.
    A – senate, B – bills, C – tomorrow
11. The teachers and administrators held a meeting in the faculty office.
    A – teachers, B – administrators, C – faculty
12. The sheep clustered in a tight flock to ward off the cold weather.
    A – sheep, B – flock, C – weather

Answer key: 1 – C, 2 – B, 3 – C, 4 – A, 5 – B, 6 – B, 7 – C, 8 – A, 9 – C, 10 – A, 11 – C, 12 –B