Collective nouns are nouns that name a group of people, animals, or things as a single unit. They let you talk about many members with one word, such as team, family, or bunch. A collective noun can be followed by a singular or plural verb depending on whether you mean the group as one whole or the members as individuals. Understanding this choice helps you sound natural and precise in English.

A collective noun refers to multiple members but presents them as one group. The focus can be on the group as a single entity or on the individuals inside it, and this focus affects agreement and pronoun choice. Many collective nouns are countable, so you can use a, the, this, that, or numbers with them. Some are informal and some are more formal, so word choice can also signal tone.

English has many everyday collective nouns used in general conversation and writing. Some are used for people, some for animals, and some for objects or amounts. Many are neutral and widely understood, while others are literary or specialized. Learning the most frequent ones first gives you the most practical coverage.

Word/Phrase	Definition	Example
family	a group of related people	My family lives nearby.
team	people working together in sport or work	The team is ready.
staff	employees of an organization	The staff are meeting today.
flock	a group of birds or sheep	A flock of birds flew over us.
school	a group of fish	We saw a school of fish.
bunch	things gathered together loosely	I bought a bunch of bananas.
pile	a stack or heap of items	There is a pile of papers on the desk.

Use a singular verb when you treat the group as one unit acting together. This is common when you describe a shared action, a single decision, or the group as an organization. You can also use singular determiners like this or that with a collective noun when you mean one group. Pronouns often stay singular in this meaning when you keep the group as one entity.

Rule	Example
Use singular verb for one group action	The team wins every weekend.
Use singular when the group is like an organization	The committee decides the budget.
Singular determiners match the group-as-one meaning	This family lives in London.

Use a plural verb when you emphasize the members as individuals, often when they act separately, disagree, or do different things. This is especially common in British English, but it can appear in other varieties when the context clearly highlights individuals. Pronouns like they, them, and their often support the plural meaning. Mixing meanings in one sentence can sound confusing, so keep the focus consistent.

Rule	Example
Use plural verb when members act as individuals	The team are arguing among themselves.
Plural pronouns support the individual focus	The jury are taking their seats.
Keep agreement consistent within the same idea	The staff are unhappy with their pay.

American English more often treats collective nouns as singular, especially for institutions and organizations. British English more often allows plural agreement with the same nouns when the speaker thinks of the members. Neither choice is automatically wrong; it depends on the variety you are using and the meaning you intend. If you write for an international audience, choose the agreement that matches your focus and keep it consistent.

Region	Word	Regional Definition
American English	team	Usually takes a singular verb when the group is one unit
🇬🇧British English	team	Often takes a plural verb when members are emphasized
American English	government	Commonly treated as singular in general statements
🇬🇧British English	government	Commonly treated as plural when referring to ministers and officials

After a collective noun, pronouns should match the meaning you choose: singular for the group as one unit, plural for the members as individuals. In modern English, plural they is often used to avoid gendered pronouns, and it can also fit the members-focused meaning. If you start with singular it and then switch to their, the reader may feel a mismatch unless the sentence clearly shifts focus. Choose one perspective and follow it through the paragraph.

Rule	Example
Group-as-one often uses it or its	The company has changed its policy.
Members-focused meaning uses they or their	The company are divided in their opinions.
Avoid switching perspective without a clear reason	The committee has reached its decision.

Some collective expressions are formed with a measure noun plus of, such as a bunch of, a pair of, or a group of. Here, the measure noun is usually the grammatical head, so the verb often agrees with it, especially in formal writing. In speech, you may hear agreement influenced by the plural noun after of, but in careful writing it is safer to match the measure noun. This pattern is especially common for quantities, containers, and grouped items.

Rule	Example
Verb often agrees with the measure noun	A group of students is waiting outside.
Plural measure nouns take plural verbs	Two groups of students are waiting outside.
Container and set nouns commonly work this way	A pair of shoes is on the floor.

Most collective nouns are countable, so you can make them plural and talk about multiple groups. Pluralizing the collective noun clearly signals that there is more than one group, even if each group contains many members. When a collective noun is plural, it takes a plural verb because you now have multiple groups. This helps avoid ambiguity when you compare several teams, families, or committees.

Rule	Example
Use plural collective noun for multiple groups	Three teams are competing today.
Plural collective noun takes a plural verb	The families are traveling separately.
Plural groups can still contain many members each	Several committees are reviewing the proposal.

To choose singular or plural agreement, decide what you want to emphasize: one unit or many individuals. Look for clues like together, as a whole, and unanimously for singular meaning, and clues like disagree, each, and among themselves for plural meaning. If your sentence feels unclear, you can rewrite with members, people, or individuals to force a plural meaning. Clear meaning is more important than memorizing one fixed rule.

Rule	Example
Use singular when the group acts together	The audience was silent.
Use plural when individuals act separately	The audience were leaving at different times.
Rewrite to remove ambiguity when needed	The members of the audience were leaving at different times.