Collective Nouns Study Guide

A collective noun is a word used to represent a group of people, animals, or things. It is treated as singular when referring to the group as a single entity, but it can also be treated as plural when referring to the individual members of the group.

Examples of Collective Nouns:

• Team
• Flock
• Herd
• Family
• Class
• Crowd
• Staff
• Committee

Usage of Collective Nouns:

When using collective nouns, it's important to pay attention to the context of the sentence in order to determine whether to treat it as singular or plural.

When to treat as singular:

When the collective noun is acting as a single unit, it should be treated as singular. For example: "The team is practicing for the game."

When to treat as plural:

When the emphasis is on the individual members of the group, the collective noun should be treated as plural. For example: "The team are all wearing their own jerseys."

Practice Exercise:

Identify whether the following sentences use the collective nouns as singular or plural:

1. The herd of elephants (are/is) moving towards the watering hole.
2. My family (is/are) planning a vacation together.
3. The committee (has/have) reached a decision.
4. The class (is/are) working on their group project.

Answers:

1. The herd of elephants is moving towards the watering hole. (singular)
2. My family is planning a vacation together. (singular)
3. The committee has reached a decision. (singular)
4. The class is working on their group project. (singular)

[Collective Nouns] Related Worksheets and Study Guides:

• Subject/Verb AgreementEnglish Language Arts • Fourth Grade
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• PronounsEnglish Language Arts • Seventh Grade
• NounsEnglish Language Arts • Fifth Grade
• Subject and Verb AgreementEnglish Language Arts • Seventh Grade
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