Collective Nouns

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

A collective noun is a word used to represent a group of people, animals, or things, it therefore includes more than one member. You can’t have a team without individual members; even so, we discuss a team as a whole.

Remember that nouns are words naming people, animals, places, and things. Collective nouns are in a class all their own. Collective nouns can be singular or plural, depending on a sentence’s context. Always treat a collective noun as singular unless the context highlights the individuals in the group.

The audience is happy.
The audience are all wearing formal attire.
(In the first sentence audience is singular. In the second, it’s plural.)

If you’re uncomfortable treating a collective noun as singular or plural, put a term like members of in front so it reads smoothly as a plural.

The members of the audience are all wearing formal attire.

Here is a list of common collective nouns that contain words that describe groups of animals, people, or things. Some of these words can be interchangeable and are used to describe different things.

Here are some examples of common collective nouns used for people.

A crowd – A crowd of people cheered the nurses.
A panel – I spoke in front of a panel of experts.
A band – A band of musicians performed at our party.
A board – The board of directors had a meeting this afternoon.
A choir – A choir of singers performed in the concert.
A troupe – I joined a troupe of dancers.

Here are some examples of common collective nouns used for animals.

A flock – A flock of birds flew south.
A flock – I reared a flock of sheep
A hive – I saw a hive of bees in the tree.
A litter – There is a litter of puppies in the pound.
A pack – A pack of wolves surrounded us.
A school – I swam with a school of fish.
A pride – I saw a pride of lions in the sanctuary.

Common Collective Nouns Used for Things
Here are some examples of common collective nouns used for things:

A bouquet – My husband gave a bouquet of flowers on our anniversary.
A bunch – I picked a bunch of flowers from the garden.
A forest – I got lost in a forest of trees.
A pack – I bought a pack of cards.
A pair – This pair of shoes fits me well.
A wad – She has a wad of notes.