Collective Nouns: Definition, Examples, and Worksheet [With PDF]

In everyday English usage, we encounter various collective nouns. Sometimes we may not be aware that the word is a collective noun. The use of collective nouns is quite common. So, Whenever we need to name a group of people, animals, or things we have to use collective nouns. In this article, we will explore more about collective nouns, their definition, examples of collective nouns, and finally worksheets for collective nouns.

What is Collective Nouns?

A collective noun is a noun that represents a group. As a noun, it is a name. So collective noun is the name for the collection of the group. It is a specific word that represents a number of people or things. So, individual elements or members constitute the team and it got a name called collective nouns. It can be singular or plural depending on its use in the sentence.

Example of Collective Nouns

As mentioned above, collective nouns are a class in themselves. Let’s take a closer look of the following sentences:

• A pride of lions is moving in the jungle.
• A school of fish is crossing the river.
• A bevy of girls has participated in the competition.

In all the above sentences, the blue highlighted words are collective nouns that are representing a group. Similarly, there are many collective nouns in the English language. Let’s take a look at the few common collective nouns:

Collective Noun: Pack

The collective noun pack is used to represent a group of dogs, hounds, bears, gulls, mules, rats, sharks, wolves, etc. Example: A pack of rats.

Collective Noun: Herd

The collective noun herd can be used to represent a group of buffaloes, cattle, cows, deer, cranes, donkeys, elephants, giraffes, goats, pigs, sea horses, swans, horses, whales, oxen, zebras, etc. Example: A herd of cows.

Collective Noun: Flock

This collective noun is used to represent a group of birds, camels, ducks, parrots, chickens, sheep, tourists, pigeons, etc. Example: A flock of ducks.

Collective Noun: Shoal and Swarm

Shoal as a collective noun is used for a group of fish, salmon, herrings, etc. Example: A shoal of fish

The collective noun swarm is quite popular in representing a group of ants, flies, bees, butterflies, insects, rats, etc. Example: A swarm of bees.

Collective Noun: Gang and Group

Gang as collective nouns example is used for a group of thieves, prisoners, laborers, slaves, criminals, etc. Example: A gang of criminals.

The collective noun group is used for representing a group of people, islands, dancers, doctors, engineers, guinea pigs, etc. Example: A group of dancers.

There are many other collective nouns that are produced in the table below:

List of Collective Nouns

The following collective nouns list is provided in a tabular format for clear understanding.

Collective Nouns List	Represents a group of	Collective Nouns List	Represents a group of
Crowd	people, onlookers	Galaxy	stars, beauties
Mob	Rioters, kangaroos, sheep, theives	Hack	smokers
Staff	employees, servants	Blush	boys
Crew	Sailors	Blast	hunters
Choir	angels	Circle	friends
Orchestra	musicians	Brood	hens
Panel	experts,	Kennel	dogs
Board	trustees, directors, chess players	Smack	jellyfish
Troupe	dancers, performers, monkeys, shrimp	Knot	toads
Bunch	pigeons, flowers, seals	Culture	Bacteria
Pile	books, notebooks	Cluster	Spiders
Heap	trash	Bottle	Water, milk
stack	books	Packet	Tea, Coffee
Set	utensils, bowls	Wisdom	Grandparents
Series	movies, events, photoes,	Pan	Reviewers
Fall	lambs, woodcock	Party	Friends
cast	actors	Squad	soldiers, beaters.

So from the above examples it is clear that the same collective noun can be used to various items. Also, for the same noun there may be various collective nouns.

Singular vs Plural Use of Collective Nouns

Even though collective nouns represents a group or collection, they usually function as singular nouns as they still are referring to one thing: the group as a whole. However, there are instances when collective nouns are used as plurals, too. Basically, whether collectives nouns will be singular or plural depends on the verbs and pronouns associated with the words in a sentence.

When the use of collective nouns function as a whole unit, they are considered as singular. However, when they act individually, collective nouns are considered as plural. Also, there are certain collective nouns that are used only as plurals. Some typical examples are: police, cattle, people, vermin, poultry, children.

“Finally, the police found the truth”– In this sentence, “police” denotes to plural nouns. For specifying a single member, the sentence can be modifies as: “Finally, a police officer found the truth”.

Collective Nouns Worksheets

Let’s practice the Collective Nouns Worksheet with practiceworksheet.com to reinforce your understanding.

The given collective nouns worksheet can be printed or saved as pdf document. Option for the same is given at the end of the worksheet.

Collective Nouns Worksheet 1: Fill in the blanks with appropriate collective nouns

a. Grandfather lost his _______________________ of keys.
b. The __________________ of musicians performed well.
c. Near his house, there is ___________________ of mountains.
d. The _______________ of fish passed near the __________________ of ships.
e. A _________________of penguins is playing in the snow.
f. The _________ of birds flew south for the winter.

Collective Nouns Worksheet 2: Choose the correct noun for each group name and fill in the blanks in the collective nouns worksheet

Nouns to choose from : [Grapes, Cars, Woodpeckers, Whales, Birds, Kangaroos, Geese, Sticks, Lions, Wolves]

1. A fleet of ____________________________
2. A pack of ____________________________
3. A pride of______________________________
4. A bunch of ____________________________
5. A bundle of ____________________________
6. A flock of _______________________________
7. A pod of ________________________________
8. A gaggle of _____________________________
9. A mob of _____________________________
10. A gatling of__________________________

Collective Nouns Worksheet 3: Fill in the blanks with the correct Collective Noun from the bracket

(Choir/Gang/Crowd/Board/Pack/Class/Panel/Army/Troupe/)

a. Aharsi has to give interview in front of the ______________ of Directors
b. A ___________ of Students participated in the cricket competition.
c. There is huge _____________ of people in front of Taj Mahal
d. The local police is following a ______________ of thieves
e. The magician told Firan to choose a card from the ____________ of cards.
f. A ____________ of experts will decide the results of the contest.
g. An ___________ of soldiers are fighting at the border to keep us safe.
h. In the event, a ______ of singers sang the song while a _______ dancers performed.

Collective Nouns Worksheet 4: Match Column A and Column B with a proper collective noun as given in the collective nouns worksheet below.

Column A	Column B
Players	Herd
Deer	Hive
Puppies	Galaxy
Fish	Pack
Locusts	Team
Stars	Swarm
Trees	Wad
Lies	Forest
Notes	School
Bees	Litter

Collective Nouns Worksheet 5: Choose the correct collective noun to complete the sentence in the collective nouns worksheet

(Pair/Bowl/Batch/Pile/Bouquet/Array/Box/Firm)

a. He has a great collection of ______________ of DVDs.
b. Give a _________ of cereals to the begger in the door.
c. Mohor has purchased a ____________ of branded shoes.
d. I gifted Swarnali a _______________ of flowers on her birthday.
e. An _____________________ of Magazines are kept in his cabin.
f. Ismat opened a ____________________ of chocolates from her bag.
g. A __________________________ of Lawyers are waiting outside the court.
h. Beside the museum there is a ________________________ of garbage

Collective Nouns Worksheet 6: Match Column A and Column B with suitable Collective Nouns and finish the collective nouns worksheet

Column A	Column B
Bevy	Technology
Case	People
Department	Options
Jury	Water
Packet	Soda
Society	Money
Tub	Chickens
Brood	Pearl
Vault	Salt
String	Peers

Collective Nouns Worksheet 7: Write a sentence using the following collective nouns from the collective nouns worksheet

a. Committee: ____________________________________________________________________________________
b. Shoal : ____________________________________________________________________________________
c. Mob : ____________________________________________________________________________________
d. Heap: ____________________________________________________________________________________
e. Set: ____________________________________________________________________________________
f. Stack: ____________________________________________________________________________________
g. Series: ____________________________________________________________________________________
h. Colony: ____________________________________________________________________________________
i. Shower: ____________________________________________________________________________________
j. Orchestra: ____________________________________________________________________________________
k. Clutch : ____________________________________________________________________________________
l. Tribe: ____________________________________________________________________________________
m. Company: ____________________________________________________________________________________
n. Gaggle: ____________________________________________________________________________________
o. Staff: ____________________________________________________________________________________

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