What are collective nouns?

What is a collective noun?

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A collective noun is a noun that refers to a group of people, animals, or things. Some common collective nouns include:

• Team
• Family
• Staff

Collective nouns are always expressed as a singular noun. Singular nouns don’t have a plural form. For example, “cat” is a singular noun (referring to just one cat) while “cats” is a plural noun (referring to multiple cats).

Here are some more examples of collective nouns that refer to a group of people:

• A band of guitarists
• A class of students
• A crowd of spectators
• A group of thieves
• A party of three
• A board of investors

Here are some more examples of collective nouns that refer to a group of things:

• A library of books
• A closet of clothing
• A batch of cookies
• A basket of apples
• A bowl of rice
• A pack of gum

Here are some more examples of collective nouns that refer to a group of animals:

• A pack of wolves
• A herd of horses
• A colony of ants
• A flock of chickens
• A litter of kittens
• A colony of rats

How to use collective nouns correctly

When it comes to collective nouns, using the right subject-verb agreement can be tricky. Typically, you should use collective nouns with singular verbs. Singular verbs have an “s” added to the end of them in the present tense. Check out these examples of singular verbs:

• Walks
• Runs
• Bakes
• Talks

If the collective noun in question acts together as a group, use a singular verb. For example:

• The team is leaving tomorrow at noon.
• The family eats dinner together.
• The band plays every Sunday.
• The herd is grazing.

When those in the collective noun act as individuals, use a plural verb. Plural verbs don’t have an “s” attached to the end of them. Some examples of plural verbs are:

• Walk
• Run
• Bake
• Talk

Look through these examples of collective nouns using plural verbs:

• The litter of kittens have their own toys.
• The band are tuning their guitars.
• Each member of the team makes $100,000 a year.
• The police were making many arrests.

Taking the time to understand collective nouns will improve the quality and clarity of your writing. If you’re interested in learning more about the different types of nouns, explore abstract nouns next.