Collective Nouns

Lesson 1 Collective Nouns

Essential Question

How do we talk about groups of people, places, and things that function together?

Grammar in the World

sculpture of an orchestra

Image by Russell_Yan Links to an external site. from Pixabay Links to an external site.

What Do I Know?

What do you already know about nouns that function as a group? Take this quiz to find out.

Building Blocks

Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time. It is also helpful to see how each skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:

Learn About Collective Nouns

As you know, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are the subjects and objects of our sentences--who and what we talk about.

Collective nouns are important because they allow us to talk about nouns when they are grouped together or in a collection; in other words, a collective noun includes more than one person, place, or thing.

Look at the chart below and notice how collective nouns give us more information about how groups function together.

Common, Plural Noun	Collective Noun	Sample Sentence
musicians	orchestra	The orchestra will play at 7 tonight.
flowers	bouquet	She delivered the bouquet to her aunt.
trees	forest	They wandered through the forest, collecting leaves and acorns.
cards	deck	Would you grab that deck so we can play a round of Nerts?
geese	gaggle	Slow down and let that gaggle of geese cross over to the lake.
players	team	Let’s go root for our team at Friday night’s football game!
fish(es)	school	The school swam to the left and quickly changed direction.
students	class	We have a smart and talkative class!
relatives	family	Our family enjoys camping in the summer.

When writing sentences, you need to think about how a collective noun is functioning in a sentence in order to know whether to use a singular or plural verb. Sometimes, this can be tricky, so never hesitate to research the internet or ask someone to help you edit your writing.

Click on the tabs below to learn about some general rules to help you.

Is the collective noun singular or plural?

First, ask yourself if the collective noun is singular or plural. The answer will determine whether you use a singular or plural verb.

Is the collective noun singular or plural?
A singular collective noun takes a singular verb.	A plural collective noun takes a plural verb.
Our high school orchestra plays beautifully.	The orchestras play beautifully.
My favorite football team plays to win.	The teams in our division play to win.
That school of fish zooms across the bay.	Those schools of fish zoom across the bay.
The bouquet in the window display is fragrant and colorful.	The bouquets in the window display are fragrant and colorful.

Are the members of the collective noun are performing the same task together?

Next, ask yourself if the members of the collective noun are performing the same task together or functioning as individuals.

Are the members of the collective noun acting as individuals or as a group?
Collective nouns with members acting as a group take a singular verb.	Collective nouns with members acting as individuals take a plural verb.
The orchestra plays every Saturday night.	The orchestra tune their instruments, review music, and warm up before each performance.
The high school football team has a great defense this year.	The high school football team run, catch, and throw with great skill.
My family enjoys eating Italian food for lunch on Sundays.	My family have different opinions about what to eat for lunch each Sunday.
The class designs a group project each semester.	The class complete their own portions of the project.
Note: although the grammar rule is to make the verb plural when the members of the collective noun function individually, you will notice that the resulting sentence sometimes sounds odd; you might even see that your online grammar checker thinks you are writing incorrectly. You can solve this problem by revising the sentence or adding the word members. The orchestra members tune their instruments, review music, and warm up before each performance. The musicians tune their instruments, review music, and warm up before each performance. The high school team players run, catch, and throw with great skill. The players run, catch, and throw with great skill. My family members have different opinions about what to eat. My siblings and I have different opinions about what to eat.

Do I Get It?

What have you learned about collective nouns? Take this quiz to check your understanding.