Nouns: Collective

A collective noun is a noun that represents a class or group of things. For example: flock of sheep, crowd of people, deck of cards, etc. Though collective nouns refer to a group, grammatically speaking, they are singular.

Examples include:
family
team
crowd
committee
jury
pack

Usually, the things described as a collective noun functions as a unit, and is therefore treated as a singular noun paired with singular verbs. For instance, you wouldn't say My family are big. Instead you would use a singular verb and say, My family is big.

An exception to this rule applies when you refer to the members of a collective group as separate individuals. When this is the case, use a plural verb. For instance, you probably wouldn't say The team is putting on their helmets because the collective team doesn't have one helmet to put on one head. Instead you would say The team are putting on their helmets since each seperate team member is putting on their helmet.



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