What is a Collective Noun?
A collective noun is a word used to refer to a collection of things as a whole.
Examples of some collective nouns
Here are some examples of common collective nouns.
- crowd
- team
- flock
The use of the above common nouns in the sentences
- There is a crowd on the road.
- An Indian cricket team played well in the T-20 series.
- A flock is swimming in the tank.
In the above sentences, the words ‘crowd’, ‘team’, ‘flock‘ are used to describe a collection of people, number of players, collection of goose respectively. One word is used for many people, players and goose describing as one whole.
Such words that are used for the collection are called Collective Nouns.
Collective nouns are used for people, animals as well as things. There are so many collective nouns. We shall take some of those.
Collective Nouns used for people
Here are some common nouns. We have used those nouns to explain the group of people.
Have a look-
- A staff of employees
- A class of students
- A band of musicians
- A crew of sailors
- A group of dancers
- A pack of thieves
- A board of directors
- A panel of experts
- An army of soldiers
- A choir of singers
Collective Nouns used for animals
Here are some naming words. We have used those words to explain the group of animals.
Have a look-
- A pack of wolves
- A Hive of bees
- A litter of cubs
- A pack of hounds
- A troop of lions
- A flock of ship
- A flock of bird
- An army of ants
- A herd of deer
- A murder of crows
Collective Nouns used for things
Here are some examples of the naming words. We have used those to explain the group of things.
Have a look-
- A galaxy of stars
- A forest of trees
- A group of islands
- A string of pearls
- A fleet of ships
- An album of photographs
- A stack of wood
- A bouquet of flowers
- A bunch of keys
- A pair of shoes
There are so many collective nouns in English. During speaking or reading, you will find out the collective noun in the sentence.
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