COLLECTIVE NOUNS — EXERCISE 2 (ESL)
level: Intermediate (B1/B2)
Collective nouns like team, family, and orchestra name a group as a single unit. In American English they nearly always take a singular verb — but a few cases allow either form depending on context. This exercise practices making the right choice.
Choose is, are, or both to complete each sentence. In some cases, either form may be acceptable in American English.
1.
The range (is/are/both) narrow.
2.
The mob (is/are/both) angry.
3.
The board (is/are/both) discussing the proposal.
4.
The basket of fruit (is/are/both) on the table.
5.
The galaxy (is/are/both) enormous.
6.
The audience (is/are/both) made up of older men.
7.
The family (is/are/both) sitting together.
8.
The couple (is/are/both) arguing.
9.
The pack of cards (is/are/both) on the table.
10.
The orchestra (is/are/both) playing beautifully.
Did you know?
English has some of the most oddly specific collective nouns in the world, especially for animals.
A group of crows is a murder. A group of owls is a parliament. A group of ravens is an unkindness, and a group of jellyfish is a smack. Many of these date back to the Book of Saint Albans (1486), a hunting guide where English nobility used precise, often poetic terms to show off their knowledge of the hunt.
Not all collective nouns are centuries old, though. New ones get coined informally all the time, and if a group of people is doing something distinctive enough, English speakers will often invent a name for it on the spot.
Whatever the noun means, and however whimsical or invented it is, the grammar works the same way: it's still a single group acting as one unit, so the same singular/plural verb rules from the review above still apply.
A group of crows is a murder. A group of owls is a parliament. A group of ravens is an unkindness, and a group of jellyfish is a smack. Many of these date back to the Book of Saint Albans (1486), a hunting guide where English nobility used precise, often poetic terms to show off their knowledge of the hunt.
Not all collective nouns are centuries old, though. New ones get coined informally all the time, and if a group of people is doing something distinctive enough, English speakers will often invent a name for it on the spot.
Whatever the noun means, and however whimsical or invented it is, the grammar works the same way: it's still a single group acting as one unit, so the same singular/plural verb rules from the review above still apply.
KEEP PRACTICING — MORE EXERCISES FOR YOU:
More noun & agreement exercises:
Collective nouns (agreement) 1 (B1/B2)
Is or are? (countable nouns) 1 (A2/B1)
Subject-verb agreement 2 (B1/B2)
Subject-verb agreement (writing) 1 (B2/C1)
Countable or uncountable? 1 (A2/B1)
Plural noun forms 1 (A2/B1)
Browse all grammar exercises →
More noun & agreement exercises:
Collective nouns (agreement) 1 (B1/B2)
Is or are? (countable nouns) 1 (A2/B1)
Subject-verb agreement 2 (B1/B2)
Subject-verb agreement (writing) 1 (B2/C1)
Countable or uncountable? 1 (A2/B1)
Plural noun forms 1 (A2/B1)
Browse all grammar exercises →
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