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Nouns: Nouns #13: Special Names for Groups

Dennis Oliver

Nouns #13:
Special Names for Groups (#1)

Collective nouns are interesting because they are
countable, but refer to groups of people or things.
This means that the singular form of a collective noun actually refers to more than one person or thing.
(The plural form of a collective noun refers to more
than one group.)

Here are a few examples:
example meaning
army a group of soldiers
audience a group of people being
entertained, listening to
a speech, etc.
band a group of musicians
playing wind and
percussion instruments
bouquet [buw-kéi]) a group of cut flowers
cattle a group of cows
choir a group of singers
class a group of students
studying the same thing
club a group of people with
a common interest--
for example, photography
or gardening or Tae Kwon Do
committee a group of people in
a company or other
organization working
together on a common
assignment, project, or
area of interest
crowd a large number of
people (often in a
small place)
faculty the teachers who work
in a school, college,
university, etc.
flotilla a group of ships
sailing together
gang a group of people who
do things--often criminal
activities--together; also
a group of close friends
group general term for a number
of people or things; often
used for musicians
herd a group of certain kinds
of animals (usually animals
with hooves--horses, cattle,
deer, sheep, buffalo, etc.)
jury a group of people (12 in
the U.S. and Great Britain)
who decide, based on the
evidence that is presented,
whether someone is guilty
or not guilty
mob a crowd--often one that
is excited and beginning to
show unruly behavior
navy a group of sailors
orchestra a group of musicians
playing wind, string, and
percussion instruments
staff a group of workers who
provide support for an
individual, a company,
or an organization
team a group of athletes playing
together in a sport; a group
of individuals working
together on a project

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Special Notes:

1. Collective nouns have singular grammar but a plural
meaning. For this reason, it is often confusing to decide
whether to use a singular or plural verb. In American 
English, the verb is usually singular--because the
collective noun is used to indicate that the group is
thought of as a single unit.
2.

Remember that collective nouns are countable: they
can be singular or plural. If they are plural, they refer
to more than one group:

an army: a group of soldiers /
armies: more than one group of soldiers

a team: a group of athletes in a sport /
teams: more than one group of athletes in
a sport or sports
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