COLLECTIVE NOUNS — EXERCISE 1 (ESL)

Grammar review Collective nouns and verb agreement

A collective noun names a group as a single unit: team, family, committee, audience, orchestra.

In American English, collective nouns almost always take a singular verb because the group is treated as one unit:
“The committee is meeting tomorrow.”
“The family is on vacation.”

In British English, a plural verb is often preferred when the members of the group are acting individually:
“The committee are arguing among themselves.”

When both are acceptable (marked both in this exercise), either form is correct depending on context or dialect. This exercise focuses on American English usage as the default, but accepts both where genuine ambiguity exists.