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00:00First of all, what are collective nouns?
00:04A collective noun is a term used to represent a group or collection of people, animal, or things.
00:12The interesting thing about collective nouns is that they function as a unit,
00:19even though there are multiple people or animals or things inside that unit.
00:27Let me explain what this means with pictures.
00:32So this is a normal noun, an athlete.
00:36And there's one athlete, so it's a singular noun.
00:40When we add an S, we have athletes, referring to more than one athlete.
00:47And this is a plural noun.
00:49While a collective noun is team, for example.
00:54You can see there are many athletes on the team, but usually team is considered singular,
01:02even though there are many people on the team.
01:06This is a singular collective noun.
01:10Because we also have teams with an S, and this is a plural collective noun.
01:17We have the blue team and the red team.
01:20So let's talk a bit about singular versus plural collective nouns.
01:27Here's a normal noun.
01:29The athlete is running.
01:31We have a singular noun, so we use a singular verb.
01:36The athletes are trini.
01:40Here we have plural noun, so we use plural form of the verb to be.
01:45Now here we have a collective noun.
01:49The team has a match on Friday.
01:53And you can see that we've used the singular form of the verb have.
02:00The team has.
02:02It has a match on Friday.
02:06Not the team have.
02:08Because we're referring to the team as a single unit.
02:14It has a match on Friday.
02:17Now if we used a plural collective noun,
02:21the teams are waiting the referee's final decision.
02:25While in this case, we're talking about two teams.
02:30So we use the plural form.
02:33The teams are waiting the referee's final decision.
02:39So a plural collective noun takes a plural verb.
02:43And a singular collective noun usually takes a singular verb.
02:49I encourage you to watch this entire video so you can understand exactly what I mean by this.
02:58Let's look at another example of a plural collective noun.
03:02This is a difficult one for many people.
03:05The family is Irish.
03:08We're talking about one family.
03:11The family is Irish.
03:13We use the singular form of the verb to be.
03:16Now if we're talking about multiple families,
03:20the families are Irish and French.
03:24Because we're talking about two families.
03:27The Irish family and the French family.
03:31So when does a singular collective noun take a plural verb?
03:37Or does it ever take a plural verb?
03:40Now this can depend if you're speaking American English or British English.
03:45So pay attention till the end of this video.
03:49So when the members within the collective noun act as a group,
03:54they're acting together as one, making one decision or doing one action.
04:00We use a singular verb.
04:02For example, my family is playing a board game.
04:07So my family is one unit.
04:09The members of my family, we act as a group, as a single unit.
04:16We're doing this activity all together as one.
04:20However, the members within the collective noun can act as individuals.
04:25And when this is the case and the members within the group are acting separately or acting as individuals
04:34and not doing the same thing or they disagree,
04:38we can use a plural verb.
04:41For example, my family are disagreeing about the rules.
04:46In this case, the focus is on different members of the family have different opinions and they are arguing.
04:55So in this case, we could use a plural verb to emphasize that the members are acting as individuals
05:03and they have different opinions.
05:06Now this is a little difficult and not all English-speaking countries follow this rule.
05:12So keep watching to understand more.
05:17More examples of collective nouns acting as a group where we use a singular verb
05:23and collective nouns acting as individuals when we could use a plural verb.
05:30The band is playing at the concert tonight.
05:33Band is also a collective noun.
05:36There are multiple people in the group.
05:39The band are tuning their individual instruments before the concert.
05:45For example, one member is tuning his guitar.
05:48Another member is tuning his piano.
05:51So we are referring to the group, but they are acting as individuals within the group.
05:58The jury decides the verdict unanimously.
06:02Here, we're referring to the jury of a court and they've decided he is guilty.
06:09They've made this decision as a group, as a single unit.
06:13Let's compare that with this sentence.
06:16The jury are split in their decision.
06:20Some members of the jury believe he is innocent and other members believe he is guilty.
06:27And so, because they're not acting as a group with one opinion, we can use a plural verb, are, instead
06:36of, is.
06:38Another example.
06:40The class is going on a field trip.
06:43The class are working on their projects independently.
06:48Let's say it's a science class.
06:51Some students in the class are writing essays.
06:55Other students are doing experiments.
06:58They are working on their projects independently and not together.
07:02And in this case, we could use the plural verb, are, instead of, is working.
07:09Now, this is very important.
07:12This usage is more common in British English.
07:16In American English, a singular verb is usually preferred in both cases.
07:23So, in American English, they would say the class is working on their projects independently,
07:29or the band is tuning their individual instruments before the concert.
07:34Whereas, in British English, it's more common to use the plural verb, in this case, when the group acts as
07:43individuals.
07:44So, the most important thing is to be consistent.
07:49And if you are not sure which one to use, it's probably safest to use the singular verb, because that
07:57is most common.
07:59Usually, we use a singular verb after a collective noun.
08:04It's only in very rare cases that we would use, or need to use, a plural verb, because usually, the
08:12collective noun is acting as a group.
08:15Now, let's talk about quantifying expressions and a collective noun plus of plus a plural noun.
08:26So, in English, we often use collective nouns followed by of, and a plural noun, to describe specific quantities or
08:35groups of things or animals.
08:37For example, a herd of sheep, a pack of wolves, a bunch of grapes, a stack of books.
08:46In English, we use certain collective nouns when referring to certain animals or certain things.
08:54We would not say, a pack of sheep, we always say, a herd of sheep.
09:00So, a herd refers to multiple sheep, and the pack refers to multiple wolves.
09:08So, in the context of subject-verb agreement, the verb must agree with the collective noun, which is usually considered
09:17singular because it refers to a group as a single entity.
09:22For example, a herd of sheep is crossing the road, not a herd of sheep are crossing the road, a
09:32herd is, a pack of wolves is howling under the moonlight, a pack is, not a pack are.
09:42So, we use singular verbs with collective nouns.
09:47Even though we have a plural noun here, we are referring to the collective noun, that's the subject.
09:55And as I taught you before, when we consider the group as a single entity, we use a singular verb.
10:03So, a team of engineers is working on the project.
10:07Even though engineers is plural, we are referring to the team.
10:13The team is the subject.
10:15Now, when we consider the individuals within the group acting independently, we typically use a plural verb.
10:23Now again, this is more common in British English.
10:27I'm Canadian, and we use a mixture of American English and British English.
10:33So, a team of engineers are working on different parts of the project.
10:39If we compare these sentences, you can see in the second sentence, we are emphasizing that the engineers are each
10:48working on something different.
10:50And so, we use the plural form of the verb.
10:54And once again, this is common in British English.
10:58In American English, they would likely say, a team of engineers is working on different parts of the project.
11:05Now, very important, the noun following of is always in plural form.
11:12Always.
11:13We say a stack of books, not a stack of book.
11:19Because if it's just one book, it's not a stack.
11:23It's just a book.
11:24A pack of wolves, not a pack of wolf.
11:29Okay?
11:30Now, let's look at some other common collective nouns.
11:34We'll start with people.
11:35Group.
11:36Team.
11:38Family.
11:39Class.
11:40Crowd.
11:41Staff.
11:42Choir.
11:43Company.
11:44Band.
11:45Audience.
11:47Let's look at animals.
11:49A herd of elephants, for example.
11:52A flop of birds.
11:54A pack of wolves.
11:56A colony of ants.
11:58A school of fish.
12:00A litter of kittens.
12:02A brood of hens.
12:05A swarm of bees.
12:07A pride of lions.
12:09A gaggle of geese.
12:12And let's look at things.
12:15A batch of cookies.
12:17A stack of books.
12:18A bunch of grapes.
12:20A bundle of sticks.
12:22A set of keys.
12:24A pack of cards.
12:25A pair of shoes.
12:27A pile of clothes.
12:29A fleet of ships.
12:31A collection of stamps.
12:33There are many more collective nouns in English, and these are some of the common ones in each
12:40category.
12:41So now it's time for our quiz.
12:43There are 10 questions in total, and you have to correct any mistakes of subject-verb agreement
12:49in these sentences.
12:51Number 1.
12:52The team of scientists is working on individual research projects.
12:58Number 2.
13:00The group of students are excited about the upcoming field trip.
13:05Number 3.
13:06Pride of lions stock its prey in the grasslands.
13:11Number 4.
13:13The family is looking forward to moving to Australia.
13:17Number 5.
13:19The rock band are playing at three different venues next week.
13:23Number 6.
13:25A fleet of ships sails across the horizon.
13:29Number 7.
13:31The choir sing a beautiful song at the Christmas concert.
13:35Number 8.
13:37The government are planning to introduce new laws.
13:41Number 9.
13:42The families are from Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.
13:46Finally, number 10.
13:48The committee meets every month to discuss issues.
14:01Now let's correct these together.
14:04Number 1 should be the team of scientists are working on individual research projects.
14:12Now again, the subject is team, which usually uses a singular verb.
14:19But because the emphasis is on the scientists doing different things within the group, we use a plural verb.
14:28Again, this is common in British English.
14:31Number 2 is incorrect.
14:34The group of students are excited about the upcoming field trip.
14:38This should be is excited.
14:41The group is excited about the upcoming field trip.
14:46And this sentence is different from the first sentence because we are referring to the collective noun as one unit.
14:55The group is excited.
14:57It's different from number 1, where the focus is on individuals within the group performing different actions.
15:05So the correct answer is is.
15:08Number 3 is incorrect.
15:12A pride of lions stalk its prey in the grasslands.
15:16It should be stalks.
15:18A pride of lions stalks its prey.
15:22And that's because the collective noun is pride.
15:26A pride stalks its prey.
15:29We have to use a singular verb because the subject is pride, not lions.
15:35Number 4 is correct.
15:38The family is looking forward to moving to Australia.
15:43Number 5 is incorrect.
15:46The rock band is playing at three different venues next week.
15:51We need a singular verb because this is a singular collective noun.
15:57Number 6 is correct.
16:00A fleet of ships sails across the horizon.
16:04Fleet is a collective noun, and that is the subject, so we need a singular verb.
16:09Number 7 is incorrect.
16:12It should be sings.
16:14The choir sings a beautiful song at the Christmas concert.
16:17Number 8 is incorrect.
16:21The government is planning to introduce new laws.
16:25Government is another collective noun.
16:28Number 9 is correct.
16:31The families are from Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.
16:34We have different families, and we're using plural collective noun.
16:40And finally, number 10 is also correct.
16:43The committee meets every month to discuss issues.
16:48Okay, let me know in the comment section how many you got correct out of 10,
16:53and if this was difficult for you, or if you have any questions at all,
16:59make sure to subscribe for more English lessons.
17:01Our knowledge will be in the comments section how many you get of course.
17:01Maybe the person who wrote the story will raise their children and buy new laws as comments do you have.
17:01our relationship wasуд Nós is the voucher that someone said they're a man with a friend in general bank than
17:01all others.
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