Collective Nouns, Definition, Examples, List and Rules

Collective Nouns: The noun is a word that generally refers to the name of a specific object. Nouns are classified into different types and collective nouns are one among them. When a noun functions as a set or group of objects, such as living things, people, places, actions, qualities, etc. then it is known as a Collective Noun which refers to a collection of things taken as a whole. If you wish to know more about Collective nouns, in this article you will get a better understanding of Collective Nouns, its Definition,  Examples, and uses. 

Collective Noun Definition

A Collective Noun is a noun that denotes a group or number of people, animals, or things. The word collective means “characteristic of a group of individuals taken together.” This basically means a collective noun is a group noun that refers to units or groups of a single entity in a collective sense. Some examples of collective nouns are:

flock (of birds)

crowd (of people)

choir (of singers)

group (of people, or animals)

committee (of directors, of lawyers, of managers)

team (of horses, of players)

Collective Noun (सामूहिक संज्ञा) Definition in Hindi

In Hindi, Collective noun can be defined as- “सामूहिक संज्ञा एक ऐसा शब्द है जो लोगों, जानवरों या चीजों के समूह या संख्या को दर्शाता है। समूहवाचक संज्ञा व्यक्तियों या वस्तुओं के समूह का नाम है जिसे एक साथ लिया जाता है और समग्र रूप से, इकाई के रूप में बोला जाता है |”

Collective Noun Examples

In English grammar, collective nouns generally fall into three categories, depending on the noun it is referring to.

1. People:- Collective nouns refer to groups of people like the army of soldiers, team of players, league of powers, class of students, etc.
2. Animals:- Collective nouns that refer to groups of animals will often be specific to a particular species, like the Herd of sheep, a murder of crows, a flock of birds, a school of fish, a pod of whales, etc.
3. Things:- There are also collective nouns used for groups of things or non-living objects like a grove of trees, a bloom of flowers, a bunch of Grapes, or a pack of cards.

There are some collective nouns for things that are not part of everyday speech, but they can add depth and interest to your vocabulary and writing. For example, a batch of Bread, an atlas of maps, a range of Mountains, etc.

Here are some examples of collective nouns you can remember or can use to improve your vocabulary:-

Collective Nouns Examples for People

Collective noun examples for People are discussed below:

Collective Nouns Examples for Animals

Collective Nouns Examples for Animals are discussed below:

Collective Nouns Examples for Things

Collective Nouns Examples for Things are discussed below:

Is Collective Noun Singular Or Plurals?

As you have noticed that collective nouns are used to describe the plurality of something, this often lead to confusion regarding the usage of the right form of verbs. Plural means more than one, which means plural nouns refer to more than one of that particular noun, but collective nouns are singular words used in place of plural nouns.

For example, you can use different words to make sentences by using a plural form to denote the noun or you can also use a different form of collective nouns. If a singular collective noun is used in a sentence, it needs to be treated like a singular noun.

Read these sentences and figure out which one is correct?

Sentence 1: This year's team are ready for the finale.

Sentence 2: This year's team is ready for the finale.

In the above two sentences, you come to notice that Sentence 1 is Incorrect. Hence we must use a singular verb “is” with a collective noun, as a collective noun represents a singular unit. Now you can think of more like these examples and practice them on your own.

Some Examples of Collective Nouns

The below examples of collective nouns aid you in identifying the correct collective nouns in sentences.

1. A herd of cows were grazing for a very long time. (Herd of cows is a collective noun)
2. A gang of robbers stole many precious things from this house. (Gang of robbers is a collective noun)
3. A band of musicians played this soothing song. (Band of musicians is a collective noun)
4. A kindle of kittens are drinking milk. (Kindle of kittens is a collective noun)
5. A litter of puppies are playing on the ground. (Litter of puppies is a collective noun)
6. A herd of cattle are taken to the shed.
7. A nest of rumours spread fast among the crowd
8. A fleet of ships arrived at the coast this morning.
9. A shiver of sharks was caught by the fishermen.
10. A horde of hamsters laid many eggs.