Collective Nouns

A collective noun name a group made up of a number of people or things.

Family

Crowd

Class

Team

Question #1

Which of the following is a collective noun?

a. Sports

b. Bleachers

c. Team

d. Fan

Nouns and verbs in sentences must always show agreement.

What does this mean?

Let me show you.

The subject and verb in the following sentence agree.

They were happy.

The subject and verb in the following sentence do not agree.

They was happy.

They were happy.

We call this a plural subject.

They were happy.

We call this verb a plural verb because it goes with the plural subject.

Just think of it this way.

If the subject is singular, you need the verb that goes with it.

If the subject is plural, you need the verb that goes with they.

How do you know which verb goes with it and which verb goes with they?

Try these on your paper.

It (go/goes).

They (run/runs).

Did you get them right?

How did you know?

You know the proper conjugation of most words.

The proper CONJA-WHATING?!?

Verb conjugation looks like this.

I run. We run.

You run. You run.

He/she runs. They run.

I am We are.

You are. You are.

He/she is. They are.

But don’t worry. You can use the word that sounds right.

If the noun is singular use the verb the sounds right with it.

If the noun is plural use the verb the sounds right with they.

Try these.

The tha is/are red. (singular)

The hat is red.

The hewesl is/are round. (plural)

The wheels are round

Here’s the problem

Every collective noun can have both a singular and plural meaning.

This means you have to think about how it is being used in a sentence in order to know if the noun is singular or plural.

A collective noun is singular if

If you are speaking about the group as a unit.

Use ‘it’ to help you with agreement.

A collective noun is plural if

You are referring to the individual members of the group.

Use ‘they’ to help you with agreement.

Singular or Plural?

The entire audience applauds the performers.

The audience take their seats.

The family begins its trip.

Question #2

Is the underlined collective noun singular or plural?

The flock enters by different gates.

a. Singular

b. Plural

Question #3

Is the underlined collective noun singular or plural?

The whole flock enters through the gate.

a. Singular

b. Plural

Question #4

Which verb best completes the sentence?

The family __________ their rooms.

a. Cleans

b. Clean

Question #5

The team _________ its first game.

a. Play

b. plays