In British English, when a sentence refers to the actions of a group as a whole, then you should treat the collective noun as singular. If youd like to hear native English speakers using collective nouns in everyday speech, be sure to subscribe to the Magoosh, The Best Online English Classes For Students at Every Level, The California Accent or California English: A Guide for ESL Learners, How to Say No Politely: 50 Polite Ways to Say No in English, Magoosh English Class: Pop Music in America, Ensemble A group of artists, musicians, or technicians in a given field. (LogOut/ Perhaps youre eager to learn the collective noun for mice? In such cases, a plural verb is automatically used, as in these examples: 1. Thus, you just have to refer to them as a group of koalas.. So, what is a collective noun? As a result, there is no official name for more than one koala in a group. 
A. On a related note, a few months ago I invited readers to propose a collective term for stonechats, and one suggested 'kindness', which I'm most taken by. These are great. 
Thanks for adding those. Perfect. Compare a, Such is our interest in the collective nouns for animals that weve listed them in two of our most recent editions: they can be found in, . For example, you might hear about an orchestra or a diamond cluster. In short, collective nouns are very versatile! 300+ List of Adverbs of Manner PDF Definition and Infographics, A wad of currency/notes an anthology of poems.
A few days ago, I received a text message from my brother lamenting a poster he had seen outside a bar, which read Be Part of the Pack for the Lions Tour. In fact, the word group is an example of a collective noun, though it is not specific to one type of thing. Animal Group Names, in, https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Appendix:Glossary_of_collective_nouns_by_subject&oldid=66478773, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, It has been requested that this appendix be. The bar staff obviously thought they were being clever by punning on the rugby pack (the forwards; you know, the ones who do all the scrummaging and stuff) and a pack of lions. For example, its easy to talk about a particular person, animal, idea, or object but what happens when you want to talk about groups of things? For example, you can talk about a group of people or a group of cars. Alternatively, most collective nouns refer to very specific things. *Individual members have requested a new song, though its unclear if every member of the choir agrees. To learn more, I tracked down a list of collective nouns for animals on the San Diego Zoos website. *Typically American English usage with a mixture of singular verb and plural pronoun.
So the question arises: is a collective noun singular or plural? Here are some of the most interesting collective nouns of animals: Wow, thats a lot to remember! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Collective nouns are words for single things that are made up of more than one person, place, animal, thing, or idea. Isnt that a wonderful word? Although its members are plural, a collective noun is always treated as singular. Its also important to note that there is a lot of crossover between similar species when it comes to collective nouns. If youd like to hear native English speakers using collective nouns in everyday speech, be sure to subscribe to the Magoosh Youtube channel or join our Facebook Group today! Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. They sure are lovely. A. I saw a man staring at the televisions in the store window. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Alternatively, if it refers to the actions of individual members or parts of a group, then you use the plural form of the verb. For example, in a game of football there are TWO teams.
For one thing, sentence usage is sometimes very complicated, so you dont even know what the name is. The collective noun is an important part of English. It was during his time in school that he, When speaking English, you probably want to talk about more than just individual things. Change). Your email address will not be published. I quite like 'hoard' too. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Collective nouns, as the name implies, are called names that are collectively given to more than one person or group of objects. Collective Noun For Birds, Collective Nouns List Birds, Collective Noun For Goats, Collective Nouns List in English, Collective Noun For Swans, Collective Nouns List Swans, Collective Noun For Horse, Collective Nouns List in English, Sentences with Have, Have in a Sentence in English, Sentences with Generate, Generate in a Sentence in English, Sentences with Fragment, Fragment in a Sentence in English, Sentences with Count, Count in a Sentence in English, Sentences with Case, Case in a Sentence in English. When speaking English, you probably want to talk about more than just individual things. Collective nouns are used in everyday discourse, even if you arent aware of it. We never expected to see a pack of wolves near our house. Below are some of my favorites. Ooh, I love these. Fortunately, you dont have to memorize all of these collective nouns. And I'm fairly sure that hoard is reserved for use when talking about dragons.
Ahh, the English language. A collective noun is a part of speech that refers to a group of things. Generally, collective nouns are treated as singular. People can be divided into many different groups based on behaviors and characteristics. That got me thinking about all of the interesting group names for animals. For example: In American English, you almost always treat collective nouns as singular. As a suggestion for the collective noun of lexicographers, how about a book? She wanted to visit all of the museums. This page was last edited on 20 April 2022, at 23:50. Which list shows collective nouns only? By memorizing some (or even all) of the collective nouns above, you can greatly improve your English speaking and writing! Individual entities made up of more than one person, animal, place, item, or idea are called collective nouns. Therefore, you can treat the choir as plural. I wonder how old and established some of these are, though. or a language? So, what is a collective noun? Required fields are marked *. Murder, fluther, cluster, and peep: fun collective nouns foranimals, Happy birthday, Grammar Party! Some of these do sound newer. The band continued to play even as the choir stopped singing. Don't trust this list; many of these entries are fanciful and never found outside of word lists. If you see the individuals acting together, as a whole, then you probably treat the collective noun as singular (with singular verbs and singular pronouns), for example: If you see the individuals acting individually, then you probably treat the collective noun as plural (with plural verbs and plural pronouns), for example: So in the example above, American English speakers might use a singular verb with jury and rephrase the rest of the sentence to avoid a logical absurdity: However, even in American English, it is acceptable to use a plural verb if you really wish to emphasize the individuality of the collective noun members. For example: Since the rules vary in American and British English, you are free to choose either style. For example, you might hear about a congregation of people or a network of computers. However, this is not always the case. 5 examples of collective nouns in sentences. One of the most common examples is the koala. I replied that I might let its creators off as they were referring to rugby, but they should have run with something like Lions Tour 2009: Feel the Pride. *Like the choir, its unclear if the entire committee or only some members of the committee are in agreement. Ooh, I like a language of lexicographers nice alliterative ring to it. In any case, if you treat the committee as plural, you must also use their instead of the singular pronoun its.. Or even the collective noun for pigs? Let me add A Sleuth of Bears and a Parliament of Rooks.. Well, nows your chance! 1997-2022 EnglishClub.com All Rights Reserved. A collective noun can be singular OR plural, depending on how you see the individuals in the group. But it consists of more than one individual. or, as you are, in a sense, collectors, a hoard? Book's a bit broad, could be better to refer to authors or publishers in general or such. Nouns are words that identify persons, animals, places, and objects. Finally, youll need to know how to conjugate verbs when using collective nouns. | Grammar Party, Two documents I always have open when I copy edit: the @. The world's premier FREE educational website for learners + teachers of EnglishEngland since 1997. A collective noun is a noun that represents a collection of individuals, usually people, such as: Here are some more collective noun examples. Your email address will not be published. Enjoy. This is where the collective noun comes into play. Learn collective noun for things, fruits, items, furniture, locations, and various earth characteristics like islands, mountains, and so on. But we all know that the collective noun for lions is a, A collective noun is defined as a singular noun referring to a group of people or things, although people seem most fascinated by those referring to groups of animals, and its not surprising given the wonderful images they create. Cats a clowder or glaring (adults), a litter or kindle (kittens), or a destruction (wild cats), Chickens a flock, brood, clutch, or peep, Dogs a pack (adults) or litter (puppies), Horses A team, rag (colts), or string (ponies), Pigs a drift or drove (younger pigs), or a sounder or team (older pigs), Audience a group of people who are watching a show or attending an event in the same place, Board a group of officials who make decisions on behalf of a business or organization, Bunch many people, usually gathered closely in one area, Company a group of people who make up a commercial organization (business), Community a group of people who live and work in the same area, Congregation a group of people who attend a meeting or event, usually on a regular basis; typically associated with religious gatherings, Class a group of people who share a social or economic position, Crew a group of people who are trained to work together; often associated with sailing, Crowd a large group of people in one area, Gang a small group of friends or associates; commonly associated with criminal activity, Mob an unorganized group of people creating chaos or destruction, Orchestra a group of musicians who play a combination of wind, string, and percussion instruments, Panel a small group of experts or judges, Posse A group of people, typically armed with weapons, with a common goal or purpose, Society the collective term for all people living together, Squad a small group of people trained to achieve a specific goal, Team a group of people with a common purpose; often associated with sports or competitions, Tribe a group of people who affiliate with each other, Troupe a group of artists, usually theater actors. This is where the. C. Would you prefer a bunch of grapes or a piece of watermelon? Let me know if you think up any more 'Drudge' isn't a bad collective term for lexicographers, and it also connotes the toil of the work - perhaps too well! Most native English speakers do not know half of them.
comes into play. Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary, San Diego Zoo's Got Questions? While its easy to use simple collective nouns like group to refer to everything, it wont help you expand your vocabulary. Author Ali Smith was kind enough to write to us with some of her favourite words, one of which was a, Some collective nouns are so common that we barely realise that theyre collective nouns a, I particularly enjoy obscure collective nouns: a, The collective nouns for birds are my favourites, conveying a cacophony of colours, sounds and moods. In American English it is also possible to use a plural pronoun with a singular verb, as in: In most cases a collective noun can itself be plural. I have always loved a murder of crows, but a cackle of hyenas is also wonderfully appropriate! a) fleet, crew, football, jury, audience b) committee, gang, company, Apple, animals: a herd of cows, a flock of sheep, objects: a fleet of ships, a convoy of trucks, British English tends to treat collective nouns as. Perhaps that would be a good project for you. Although such names describe more than one person or object, they can be singular or plural, depending on the sentence they are used in. *The wolves are each running in different directions (acting as many individuals), therefore you can refer to the pack as plural. In todays guide, we will provide a collective noun definition, demonstrate how it is used in sentences, and offer more than 100 examples of collective nouns. (LogOut/ Pingback: Happy birthday, Grammar Party! And at the opposite end of the spectrum is a charm of finches and a gaze of raccoons. Despite the fact that a team cannot exist without individual members, we refer to it as a single entity. Many collective nouns refer to groups of animals, so this will be one of the most important categories to put to memory. It can help you describe specific groups of animals, people, and things. Your job is to find the collective nouns! Someone was having too much fun inventing an intrusion of cockroaches. And whats troubling about goldfish? As if they are hiding somewhere in the sentence.
In other words, they dont like to hang out in groups! Whether spooky or beautiful, animals have neat names. B. I swear that a gaggle of geese just flew by my window! Koalas tend to spend time by themselves. The term collective noun refers to a group of persons or objects. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In any case, here are more than 100 examples of collective nouns! There are lots ofcollective nouns. Here are some more examples of collective nouns that are proper nouns: Each of the collective nouns above is a single "thing". Here is a list of collective nouns by subject. My suggestions for today are 'leafage' and 'definitude'. 4. For example, groups of dogs, jackals, or wolves can all be known as packs. This shows you that most canine-like animal groups are referred to in the same way. Most collective nouns are groups of people, but some refer to animals or objects, for example: In all varieties of English, the collective noun. Reblogged this on Making Hay and commented: Also there is a parliment of owls which is quite interesting!! As you might have noticed, many collective nouns use of to signify the type of thing that they are referring to. However, British English takes a different approach. In a street there are many families. People who do know all of these names probably study animals for a living! In todays guide, we will provide a collective noun definition, demonstrate how it is used in sentences, and offer more than 100 examples of collective nouns. A. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. C. They were not looking forward to cleaning up the trash pile. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Now my aim is find a suitable collective noun for lexicographers Ive had a, Poem of the week: Break, Break, Break by Alfred Tennyson, Beyond Beowulf: Q&A with Hana Videen, author of The Wordhord, FANTABULOUS FRIDAYS A-Z: L FOR LUCIFER WITH JAMES DAWSON. In any case, if you cant remember the collective noun for a particular animal, it is generally acceptable to replace it with the word group.. Similarly, many groups of large, four-legged animals like buffalo, antelope, cows, and elk can all be called herds, while groups of ocean-dwelling creatures like fish, dolphins, and whales can be called schools. As you can see, its easier to remember many of the correct collective nouns for animals by thinking about the features or characteristics of the species! To which the answer is: it depends. If this lady had a few more emus, she would have a mob. This is usually due to the fact that certain species are solitary creatures. So, here are a few common collective nouns for different types of people: Finally, well look at some common collective nouns for various things: Now that you know some of the most common collective nouns, lets put that knowledge to use! | Grammar Party. Since collective nouns can refer to so many different types of things, we will break this list down into groups (no pun intended). An intrusion of cockroaches. A wake of buzzards. As you see, collective nouns can consist of a few people or tens, hundreds or thousands of people: Many collective nouns are common nouns, but they can also be proper nouns when they are the name of a company or other organisation with more than one person, for example Microsoft. C. Could you show me where I can find all of the mice? Below youll find some sentences on a range of topics. For this reason, there are many collective nouns that English students will have to learn to expand their vocabulary! Lets get started! Have you ever wanted to know the collective noun for monkeys? Finally, its important to note that some animals dont have collective nouns. Copyright 2022 GrammarVocab | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. Sometimes, collective nouns can work on their own or be turned into noun phrases. In other words, you can have more than one collective noun. Just remember to use the correct pronouns when referring back to the subject! Different kinds of animals have some of the most unique and even bizarre collective nouns. (LogOut/ in Film and Philosophy from the University of Georgia. B. I learned yesterday from a twitter friend that one of the collective nouns for jellyfish is fluther. A murder of crows. Words like Flock, Crowd and Staff are collective noun examples. Matthew Jones is a freelance writer with a B.A. For example, its easy to talk about a particular person, animal, idea, or object but what happens when you want to talk about groups of things? Lets get started! Collective nouns are in a different category than singular nouns. Although the name of English names may seem quite easy at first glance, when you go deeper, you are slowly starting to see how complicated the work.
