Definition: Collective comes from the same root as collection. A collective noun names a group, which is like a collection of people or things.
family | team | choir | jury | committee | herd | pod |
- Hint:
- Put the word in this test sentence to see if it works: One ______ is a group.
One team is a group. One jury is a group. One herd is a group.
Beware of plurals! Students can be a group, but that doesn't make the word collective. It is plural. Remember to use the test sentence One ____ is a group.
One student is not a group. |
- Hint:
- It is important to be able to identify collective nouns because of the way they agree with verbs. We will cover this topic in Verbs: Agreement and Challenges, Lesson 3.