Collective Nouns and Verb Agreement Practice


Definition: A collective noun is a noun that names a group that is made up of individuals.  Examples: herd; team; class; audience; fleet; swarm; army; crowd, etc.

Agreement with verb: The collective noun has a singular meaning when one speaks about a group as a unit. Example: The family sits down to dinner. (Family is a single unit)

The collective noun has a plural meaning when one wants to show that each individual member of the group acts as an individual.  Example: The family scatter in all directions to do their own thing.  (Individuals within family group.)

Hint: To decide whether the collective noun is singular or plural, substitute the word it for the collective noun.  If the sentence still makes sense when you substitute it, the collective noun is singular.  If you can substitute they, the collective noun is plural.
Exercise Directions: Write down the collective noun and the correct verb choice that will agree with the collective noun.  (Use the hint above to help you get the correct answer.)  Remember that "s" on the end of a verb indicates a singular verb.

1. The class (describes, describe) their vacations.
2. The whole class (meet, meets) at 3 PM.
3. The family (takes, take) a trip to Houghton Lake, Michigan.
4. The chess club (compare, compares) their strategies so as to win the tournament.
5. The swarm of reporters (engulfs, engulf) the famous actor all at once.
6. The audience (cheer, cheers) the winner of the million dollars.
7. The orchestra (performs, perform) my favorite music.
8. The baseball team (practice, practices) together every evening.
9. The public (support, supports) the travel baseball league.
10. The troop (disappears, disappear) in different directions.
11. The crowd (moves, move) to their favorite places along the parade route.
12. The team (is, are) putting on their helmets.
13. The stage crew (has, have) completed the scenery.
14. The orchestra (was, were) tuning up one by one.  (underline is a clue!)
15. For weeks, the cast (was, were) rehearsing their lines with one another (clue!)



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