Transcript Collective Nouns

Written by Gary Martin
Illustrated by Phillip Martin
Resource for all grades.
Collective nouns names
groups of people, places or
things.
Examples include citizens,
countrymen, audience, team,
band, United States
and family.
The important thing to
remember about collective
nouns is since they refer to
a group as a unit they are
considered singular.
For example:
The jury exited the courtroom
to discuss the case.
Since the jury is exiting
the court room as a group,
the noun is considered
singular.
However, when a collective
noun references individual
members of a group
who are acting
independently, the noun
is considered plural.
For example:
The teachers worked all
summer on their lesson plans.
Since the teachers worked
individually on their plans, the
noun is considered plural.
Can you tell if the collective noun is plural or
singular in the following sentences?
The family went on vacation to New York City.
Parts of Speech.
The family went on vacation to New York City.
In the context of this
sentence the noun family
is a singular group acting
in unison. There is no
arguing, fighting,
complaining or claiming
the front seat.
The noun is singular.
Parts of Speech.
When the reunion was over, our family went
their separate ways, back to other states.
When the reunion was over, our family went
their separate ways, back to other states.
In this sentence
the noun family is
considered plural
because all the
members are
acting individually.
Can you determine which verb goes with the
collective noun?
During the football game the crowd (was, were)
enthusiastic, nuts and just a little insane.
During the football game the crowd (was, were)
enthusiastic, nuts and just a little insane.
Since the crowd as a
group was acting in
unison, the collective
noun crowd is
considered singular and
was is the correct verb
choice.
The miners (was, were) happy about (its,
their) bonuses.
The miners (was, were) happy about (its,
their) bonuses.
Since the miners each had
an individual bonus
instead of sharing a
collective pot and making
choices on that money
based on community, the
nouns and verbs are
plural.
The students
( was / were )
not ready to get on
the bus because
they did not have
enough homework.
The students
( was / were )
not ready to get on
the bus because
they did not have
enough homework.
It’s plural.
The students
( was / were )
not ready to get on
the bus because
they did not have
enough homework.
The End
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