Close

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-COLLECTIVENOUN.html" title="Facts and informations about COLLECTIVE NOUN">COLLECTIVE NOUN</a>

COLLECTIVE NOUN

COLLECTIVE NOUN, also collective. A NOUN referring to a group of people, animals, or things, and occurring in the singular with a singular or plural verb: army, couple, family, government, group. The plural use (The majority are in favour) is commoner and more acceptable in BrE than AmE, where the singular form (The majority is in favour) is preferred. The choice of singular or plural verb depends on whether the group is seen as a unit or as a group of entities. Cooccurring possessives and pronouns differ accordingly: I was impressed by the audience, which was a distinguished one. I was impressed by the audience, who were all in their seats by 7.30. When plural, collectives follow normal rules of concord: The audiences this week have been small but appreciative. Names of countries can be used as collective nouns for sports teams, in such headlines as Pakistan build up a substantial lead, England look in good shape for Santander. See SYNECDOCHE. Collective nouns are sometimes called group nouns and the collective label is sometimes applied to plural-only words such as cattle, clothes, people, police, although these are not collective nouns as such. There are many collectives in popular and technical use for naming groups of people, animals, or things. Some are familiar to most people, such as a bench of magistrates, a flight of stairs, a flock of sheep, a swarm of bees; others are less well known (and of uncertain provenance), such as an exaltation of larks and an unkindness of ravens.

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	We need a word for this! Magazine article from: Word Ways; 5/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...longer pursued. The classic example is collective nouns for groups of animals. Apparently...of crows, etc. The oddness of such collective nouns has been recognized for centuries...Willard Espy wrote a charming poem on collective nouns for the February 1975 Word Ways: He... Read more
	A reference grammar of Egyptian Arabic.(Brief article)(Book review) Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 5/1/2009; 149 words ; ...series was canceled when its originator died in 1964. In alphabetical order, this volume treats such grammatical topics as collective nouns, the definite article, indefinite subject, numerals: combinations of the cardinal thousands with numerals below one thousand... Read more
	Most common writing errors.(words on words) Magazine article from: Policy & Practice; 12/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...mean either right now or in the near future Data -- takes a plural verb Demolish, destroy -- they mean to do away with completely...say something affirmatively, not either Equipment -- takes a plural verb First, firstly, second, secondly, most important, most importantly... Read more
	Countable, uncountable and collective nouns in the early eighteenth century English -- an overview. (Linguistics). Magazine article from: Studia Anglica Posnaniensia: international review of English Studies; 1/1/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...systematically reclassified (Denison 1998: 96). The paper provides a synchronic analysis of selected countable, uncountable and collective nouns in the early eighteenth century English. The study is based on a corpus comprising five language registers: newspaper articles... Read more
	What are intelligence? And why?(Innovative Applications of AI) Magazine article from: AI Magazine; 3/22/1998; ; 700+ words ; ...in the title. I've indulged a bit of British-English that I've always found intriguing: the use of the plural verb with collective nouns (as in Oxford have won the themes regatta ). The selection of verb sense is purposeful and captures one... Read more
	A Shrivel of Dance Critics.(Brief Article) Magazine article from: Dance Magazine; 10/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; WHAT WOULD YOU CALL A ROOM CROWDED WITH DANCE CRITICS? WE HAVE WORDS THAT ARE CALLED COLLECTIVE NOUNS--SUCH AS AN EXALTATION OF LARKS, A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS, A CLOWDER OF CATS, AND A TIDING OF MAGPIES. It has been suggested that dance... Read more
	No less than four notes on less.(Linguistics) Magazine article from: Studia Anglica Posnaniensia: international review of English Studies; 1/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...illustrate collective vs. distributive/singulative in relation to a sub-type of those nouns which are often referred to as collective nouns--rather unhelpfully so called given that they can be used either collectively or distributively, as in (3a) (collective... Read more
	Response to correspondence: Judith Brett.(EXIT RIGHT)(Viewpoint essay) Magazine article from: Quarterly Essay; 3/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...repudiating not just the Australian people but the government itself. The problem I have with all these claims is the italicised collective nouns; because only some of the electorate, some of the Australian people and some of the public changed their vote. The final... Read more
	Technology and responsibility: reflections on Genesis 1-3. Magazine article from: Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought; 9/22/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...other animals. When God creates the creatures of the sea, air, and land, the words used for them are, in Hebrew, singular collective nouns - words that take the singular form but that can refer to collectives, like the English words fish, fowl, and cattle. The... Read more
	Most common writing errors, Part 2.(words on words) Magazine article from: Policy & Practice; 3/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...divided by the number of components. Median is the number that has as many components above it as below it. Media -- takes a plural verb. More than -- instead of over unless the reference is to be physically above something. Near-miss -- this is a hard one. What... Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	collective noun Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English col·lec·tive noun • n. Gram. a count noun that denotes a group of individuals (e.g., assembly , family , crew ). Read more
	COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE Book article from: Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language ...book , John's book , but not * book alone. An uncountable noun (also non-count noun , mass noun ) has no plural forms, takes only a singular verb, and...countable and uncountable are subcategories of common noun, but not all common nouns fit the categories: scissors...clothes and other words that ... Read more
	forest Book article from: A Dictionary of Plant Sciences ...formation that is composed of trees the crowns of which touch, so forming a continuous canopy (compare WOODLAND ). 2. A collective noun describing the trees that comprise an area of forested land. 3. In Britain, from Norman times, a district reserved... Read more
	Birdsall Book article from: A Dictionary of British Place-Names Birdsall N. Yorks. Brideshala 1086 ( DB ). Probably ‘nook of land of a man called Bridd’. OE pers. name + halh . Alternatively the first element may be the OE noun bridd ‘young bird’ used in a collective sense. Read more
	State Encyclopedia entry from: West's Encyclopedia of American Law STATE As a noun, a people permanently occupying a fixed territory bound together by common...occupied by one of the United States. The people of a state, in their collective capacity, considered as the party wronged by a criminal deed; the public... Read more

See all related entries