Collective nouns are used to name a group of people or things. They determine a whole, one unit, so we use them as singular nouns. For example:

There is a bunch of flowers in the vase.

The shepherd looked after the flock of sheep in the field.

Dave bought a new pair of sneakers.

As all the words in bold are collective nouns, they require using singular verbs.

The difference between Collective and Plural Nouns:

As we use collective nouns to describe a plurality of something, they are often confused with plural nouns. Plural means more than one item, so plural nouns refer to more than one of the particular nouns. Collective nouns are words in a singular form, as they denote something as one group or set. But plural nouns always remain plural.

Compare the following sentences: Children are playing outside.I can hear them laughing.

The group of children is playing outside. I can hear them laughing.

What do we call a group? It is a gathering of people, a set of things. In this case, we can define that a group as a number of children. So, the word 'Children' is plural, which requires the plural verb (are playing), and "The group of children" is a collective noun that requires the singular verb (is playing).

Common and Proper Collective Nouns:

As you might know, we classify all nouns into common and proper. Common nouns name people, things, places, ideas, etc. For example, cat, book, city, tea, bridge, kettle, stairs. We don’t use capital letters when writing them. Proper nouns name specific people, things, and places: Paris, California, Ann, Mount Kilimanjaro, etc.

Proper nouns that represent a group can be used as collective nouns as well. For example, The Beatles is a famous British group. Since The Beatles is a group with multiple members, it is a collective proper noun,so we use it as a singular noun in a sentence.

Do you want to confirm the proper noun is collective? Replace it with the word ‘The band’ or ‘Company’.

Be careful with the exceptions. Some collective proper nouns, especially sports teams, require using a plural verb. For example, The Chicago Cubs are playing tomorrow morning.

Subject, Verb, and Pronoun Agreement

Common nouns require using basic concepts of singular nouns:

1. Use the matching singular verb: The family is having dinner.

2. Put the article “A” before the collective nouns: a pair of gloves, a box of cereal, a group of islands.

3. Use the singular pronoun “It”: I have seen this series of photos. It looks amazing!

Here are the examples of frequently used Collective Nouns: group, crew, crowd, family, cattle, public, team, police, jury, class, herd, staff, choir, majority, navy, minority, public, school, pack, bunch, set, and many others.

Let’s have some fun practice! The first activity is called “What’s missing?”

Write various collective nouns on pieces of paper and put them on the board. You can use the following phrases: a class of students, a choir of singers, a crowd of people, a flock of birds, a hive of bees, a basket of fruit, a bowl of rice, a library of books, a bunch of keys.

Then ask your kids to close their eyes and remove one picture. When children open their eyes, ask them what is missing. You can ask kids to remove the cards by themselves. It will help young learners be more involved in the process. Also, challenge children to write down their examples of collective nouns and continue playing with the phrases they propose.

“Get the star”

The second listening activity will help kids hone their attention. You can use the phrases from the previous task or add your examples. Pass out all the cards with written collective nouns to the students. Prepare the paper star. You can cut it out of the paper plate or cup and write “Superstar” there. The teacher holds a star up and calls out a phrase. The two students who have that card stand up and try to get this star. This fun listening exercise will help children master collective nouns in no time!

When playing this game with younger students, offer them more difficult cards after the simpler ones. Otherwise, they will get bored and frustrated quickly.

“You have.. don’t you?”

Performing the third activity, children will hone their language skills by asking and answering questions. Propose your kids to play with the following cards. These can be the illustrations of a clutch of chicks, a pride of lions, a litter of kittens, a herd of cows, a flock of sheep, a troop of monkeys, a shoal of fish.
 

Put all the cards in the bag. Ask your kids to pull out a card and ask questions. For example, You have the pride of lions, don’t you? You can ask various questions. Children will practice using common nouns while mastering their grammar skills. You can use hourglasses to set a time limit for this activity. It will help children be more involved.

We hope these activities will bring some happiness to your studying, and collective nouns will become a piece of cake for young learners.