In this sentence, there's a sense of individuality that each member of the jury of judges is taken as individual (individuality). The jury of judges are divided in their opinions. The fact that each of the judges has collectively contributed to giving that verdict indicates that the judges here are taken as a whole (collectivity) therefore, a singular verb is used.ī. A jury of judges has rendered that impartial verdict. Use a plural verb when the collective noun is taken as individuals and use a singular verb if it's taken as a whole.Ī. In case you want to use the collective noun itself, look if there's a sense of individuality or collectivity (if the collective noun implies the individual or whole). The committee members have already talked about the issue. My family members are going to attend a wedding. Use word like "members" with collective nouns (where possible) so as to avoid the confusion.Ī. If you keep in mind the below-given points, they will help you avoid the confusion as to what form of verb to use.ġ. However, there are some points which, if you keep them in mind, will help you choose the right form (singular or plural) of the verb when using collective nouns. Collective nouns referring to things: An album of photos, a basket of fruits, a bowl of rice, a pile of money, a bunch of keys, a grove of trees, a pair of shoes, a fleet of ships, a bouquet of flowers, a collection of coins, etc.Īre collective nouns singular or plural? Should we use a singular or plural verb form with them? How are collective nouns used in English? There's no clear-cut one-to-all answer to these questions, as "audience is or are", "the team is or are" and "the committee is or are" can be correct or incorrect depending on the context.Collective nouns referring to animals: An army of ants, a cloud of insects, a flock of sheep, a flight of birds, a drove of horses, a catch of fish, a herd of cows and bulls, a kennel of dogs, a brood of hens, etc. Collective nouns referring to people: A jury of judges, an army of soldiers, a band of musicians, a bevy of women, a board of directors, a stack of librarians, a choir of singers, an audience of listeners, a team of players, etc.As the group of people or things is taken as a whole, a collective noun is usually treated as singular.Įxamples of Collective Nouns in Sentencesīased on what they refer to, collective nouns can be categorized into the following types.A collective noun refers to a group of people or things.Merriam-Webster defines collective noun as "A noun such as "team" or "flock" that refers to a group of people or things.".Ĭambridge Dictionary defines collective noun as "A noun that describes a group of things or people as a unit." and illustrates it with examples "family" and "flock" are examples of collective nouns.".įrom the above-mentioned definitions, we can conclude that: Collective noun for cat, dog, monkey, etc.
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