Collective Nouns

Although typically words that identify more than one person, place, or thing are made plural in
the English language, collective nouns are an exception. This unique class of nouns denotes a
group of people, animals, objects, or concepts or ideas as a single entity.
Comparing Countable, Mass and Collective
Nouns
Confused about the differences between these types of nouns?
Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted, modified by a number or quantified with
size, amount, or value related words, and can appear in both singular and plural form.
Mass nouns, also referred to as non-count nouns, signify unbounded amounts, such as liquid,
small objects, and abstract or immeasurable concepts. For example, "water," "rice," and
"education" can all be considered mass nouns. A noun is considered a mass noun when its
use cannot be counted, modified or quantified in a relevant and logical manner linguistically.
Collective nouns are considered a subset of count nouns because they refer to a group of
countable nouns as a unit. For example, there are 12 eggs in dozen, and there are 52 cards in
a deck.
Common Collective Nouns
There are many types of nouns that refer to units or groups in a collective sense. Some of the
most common include:
Army
Array
Audience
Band
Bevy
Board
Bunch
Cabinet
Cast
Choir/Chorus
Class
Cloud
Committee
Company
Congregation
Corporation
Council
Crowd
Department
Faculty
Family
Firm
Gang
Group
Jury
Majority
Minority
Navy
Party
Plethora
Public
School
Senate
Society
Staff
Team
Troupe
Common collective animal nouns include:
Brood
Colony
Clutch
Drove
Flight
Flock
Gaggle
Herd
Hive
Litter
Nest
Pack
Plague
Pride
Skein
Swarm
Team
Tribe
Troop
Yoke
Using Collective Nouns Correctly
Nouns in the collective class can be used in either the singular or plural form depending on the
context of the sentence. For example, family is a collective noun because it refers to more than
one person sharing a relationship or camaraderie. However, you can also use this as a plural in
referring to groups of families.
Using collective nouns in sentences can be confusing because it's sometimes difficult to discern
whether to use plural or singular verbs and pronouns. To use verbs and pronouns correctly,
identify whether the collective noun refers to a group or unit working as individuals or in unison.
When the unit is acting in unison, it is appropriate to use the singular.
When the members of the unit are acting as individuals, it is appropriate to use plural forms
of verbs and pronouns.
For example:
The class waits [singular verb] for its [singular pronoun] teacher quietly. (The class is
referred to as a unit acting in unison. The students are all doing the same thing at the same
time.)
The class begin [plural verb] their [plural pronoun] homework assignments while they
[plural pronoun] wait [plural verb] for their [plural pronoun] teacher. (The students are a
unit, but are acting as individuals -- they each doing their own homework assignments.)
When group nouns signify units acting as individuals rather than in unison, it is also appropriate
to add or replace words to create reference to the individuals for example, adding the word
"members" after collectives like board or committee, or inserting "players" for "team" or
"students" for "class."