SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: COLLECTIVE NOUNS

1. Collective nouns name groups composed of members (usually people).

Check out the chart below for examples:

army council minority

audience department navy
board faculty public
cabinet family school
class firm senate
committee group society
company jury team
corporation majority troupe

2. Collective nouns may be either singular or plural depending on whether the

group is thought of as a whole (one unit - singular) or as individual members
(plural). For example:
SINGULAR PLURAL
a. The family has a long history. My family have never been able to agree.
b. The class has prepared a report. The class do not agree on the report.
3. COLLECTIVE NOUNS AS SINGULAR SUBJECTS:
As you read the examples below, notice that all members of the collective noun are
doing the same thing at the same time. These collective nouns function as singular
subjects and require singular verbs and pronouns:

a. Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field
for practice.

• team = singular
• follows = a singular verb
• its = a singular pronoun.

All members of the team arrive at the same place at the same time.

b. Today, Mr Lim's class takes its first exam.

• class = singular
• takes = a singular verb
• its = a singular pronoun

All members of the class are tested at the same time.

c. The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough
evidence, so its verdict is not guilty.

• jury = singular
• agrees = a singular verb
• its = a singular pronoun.

All members of the jury are thinking the same way.

 4. COLLECTIVE NOUNS AS PLURAL SUBJECTS
When the members of a collective are acting as individuals, it functions as a plural
subject and requires plural verbs and pronouns. As you read the examples below, notice
that the members of the collective noun are not acting in unison:

a. After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower,
change into their street clothes, and head to their air-conditioned
homes.

• team = plural
• shower, change, head = plural verbs
• their = a plural pronoun

The teammates are dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different
directions for their individual homes.

b. After the long exam, the class start their research papers on famous
mathematicians.

• class = plural
• start = a plural verb
• their = a plural pronoun.

The students are beginning their own research papers—in different places, at different
times, on different mathematicians.

c. The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge
that they are hopelessly deadlocked.

• jury = plural
• disagree, have told = plural verbs
• they = a plural pronoun

Not everyone on the jury is thinking the same way.

5. When you write your compositions and you cannot decide if a collective noun is singular
or plural, exercise your options as a writer. You have two ways that you can compose
the sentence without causing an agreement error:
a. Insert the word members after the collective noun [jury members, committee
members, board members]; or
b. Use an entirely different word [players instead of team, students instead of
class, soldiers instead of army]. Then you can use plural verbs and pronouns
without worrying about making mistakes or sounding unnatural.

EXERCISE 1: SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT – COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Circle the correct verb in each of the sentences below.

The class (describes, describe) their vacations.

The whole class (meet, meets) at 3 pm.

The family (takes, take) a trip to Jakarta, Indonesia.

The chess club (compare, compares) their strategies so as to win the tournament.

The swarm of reporters (engulfs, engulf) the famous actor all at once.

The audience (cheer, cheers) the winner of the million dollars.

The orchestra (performs, perform) my favourite music.

The baseball team (practise, practises) together every evening.

The public (support, supports) the travel baseball league.

The troop (disappears, disappear) in different directions.

The crowd (moves, move) to their favourite places along the parade route.

The team (is, are) putting on their helmets.

The stage crew (has, have) completed the scenery.

The orchestra (was, were) tuning up one by one.

For weeks, the cast (was, were) rehearsing their lines with one another.

ANSWERS
EXERCISE 1: SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT – COLLECTIVE NOUNS
1. class - individuals - (see the word, their...hint to plural) describe

2. class - one group - singular - meets

3. family - one group - singular - takes

4. club - individuals - (their) - plural - compare

5. swarm - individuals - plural - engulf

6. audience - group - singular - cheers

7. orchestra - group - singular - performs

8. team - group - singular - practises

9. public - group - singular - supports

10. troop - individuals - plural - disappear

11. crowd - individuals - plural - move

12. team - individuals - plural - are

13. crew - group - singular - has

14. orchestra - individual - (one by one) - plural - were

15. cast - individual - (one another) - plural - were