SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: COLLECTIVE NOUNS
1. Collective nouns name groups composed of members (usually people).
Check out the chart below for examples:
army
council
minority
audience
department
navy
board
faculty
public
cabinet
family
school
class
firm
senate
committee
group
society
company
jury
team
corporation
majority
troupe
2. Collective nouns may be either singular or plural depending on whether the
group is thought of as a whole (one unit - singular) or as individual members
(plural). For example:
SINGULAR
a. The family has a long history.
PLURAL
My family have never been able to agree.
b. The class has prepared a report.
The class do not agree on the report.
3. COLLECTIVE NOUNS AS SINGULAR SUBJECTS:
As you read the examples below, notice that all members of the collective noun are
doing the same thing at the same time. These collective nouns function as singular
subjects and require singular verbs and pronouns:
a. Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field
for practice.



team = singular
follows = a singular verb
its = a singular pronoun.
All members of the team arrive at the same place at the same time.
b. Today, Mr Lim's class takes its first exam.



class = singular
takes = a singular verb
its = a singular pronoun
All members of the class are tested at the same time.
c. The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough
evidence, so its verdict is not guilty.



jury = singular
agrees = a singular verb
its = a singular pronoun.
All members of the jury are thinking the same way.
4. COLLECTIVE NOUNS AS PLURAL SUBJECTS
When the members of a collective are acting as individuals, it functions as a plural
subject and requires plural verbs and pronouns. As you read the examples below, notice
that the members of the collective noun are not acting in unison:
a. After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower,
change into their street clothes, and head to their air-conditioned
homes.



team = plural
shower, change, head = plural verbs
their = a plural pronoun
The teammates are dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different
directions for their individual homes.
b. After the long exam, the class start their research papers on famous
mathematicians.



class = plural
start = a plural verb
their = a plural pronoun.
The students are beginning their own research papers—in different places, at different
times, on different mathematicians.
c. The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge
that they are hopelessly deadlocked.



jury = plural
disagree, have told = plural verbs
they = a plural pronoun
Not everyone on the jury is thinking the same way.
5. When you write your compositions and you cannot decide if a collective noun is singular
or plural, exercise your options as a writer. You have two ways that you can compose
the sentence without causing an agreement error:
a. Insert the word members after the collective noun [jury members, committee
members, board members]; or
b. Use an entirely different word [players instead of team, students instead of
class, soldiers instead of army]. Then you can use plural verbs and pronouns
without worrying about making mistakes or sounding unnatural.
EXERCISE 1: SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT – COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Circle the correct verb in each of the sentences below.
1.
The class (describes, describe) their vacations.
2.
The whole class (meet, meets) at 3 pm.
3.
The family (takes, take) a trip to Jakarta, Indonesia.
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 favourite music.
8.
The baseball team (practise, practises) 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 favourite 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.
15.
For weeks, the cast (was, were) rehearsing their lines with one another.
ANSWERS
EXERCISE 1: SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT – COLLECTIVE NOUNS
1. class - individuals - (see the word, their...hint to plural) describe
2. class - one group - singular - meets
3. family - one group - singular - takes
4. club - individuals - (their) - plural - compare
5. swarm - individuals - plural - engulf
6. audience - group - singular - cheers
7. orchestra - group - singular - performs
8. team - group - singular - practises
9. public - group - singular - supports
10. troop - individuals - plural - disappear
11. crowd - individuals - plural - move
12. team - individuals - plural - are
13. crew - group - singular - has
14. orchestra - individual - (one by one) - plural - were
15. cast - individual - (one another) - plural - were