This document defines and provides examples of collective nouns. Collective nouns name a group of people, places, things, or animals. It lists many common collective nouns such as class, crew, team, and flock. It then provides examples of collective noun phrases describing groups of people, animals, things, and places. Finally, it notes that collective nouns usually take a singular verb, except when referring to the individuals within the group separately.

1. Collective Nouns
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2. A COLLECTIVE
NOUN names a
group or collection
of persons, places,
things,and animals.
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3. EXAMPLES
class
family
crew
team
staff
clan
faculty
bunch
audience
crowd
fleet
group
choir
army
gang
club
flock
cast
jury
set
community company
swarm
series
herd
pair
couple
pack
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4. Collective Noun
Phrases/Expressions
PEOPLE
ANIMALS
A team of players
A herd of cows
A troop of monkeys
A gang of thieves
A flock of geese
A pod of whales
A panel of experts
A colony of ants
A yoke of oxen
A board of directors
A brood of ducklings
An army of caterpillars
A troupe of acrobats
A pride of lions
A shoal of herrings
A battalion of soldiers
A swarm of mosquitoes
A clowder of cats
A choir of angels
A pack of wolves
A hive of bees
A bevy of girls
A school of fish
A caravan of camels
A horde of nomads
A murder of crows
A litter of puppies
A band of musicians
A stand of flamingoes
A nest of mice
A tribe of Indians
A parliament of owls
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5. Collective Noun
Phrases/Expressions
THINGS/PLACES
A suite of rooms
A belt of asteroids
A union of states
A library of books
A fleet of ships
A forest of trees
A range of mountains
A chain of islands
A cluster of balloons
A set of tools
A book of stamps
A flight of stairs
A squadron of jets
A bunch of grapes
A constellation of stars
A wad of bills
A bundle of paper
A deck of cards
A bouquet of roses
A string of pearls
A hand of bananas
A pod of peas
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6. • Collective Nouns take a singular
verb except if they are taken as
separate units.
• The family (go,goes) to church
every Sunday.
• The family (perform,performs)
their duties.
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7. • Collective Nouns take a singular
verb except if they are taken as
separate units.
• The family (go,goes) to church
every Sunday.
• The family (perform,performs)
their duties.
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