Collective Nouns: Definition, Examples, and Worksheet [With

PDF]
practiceworksheet.com/collective-nouns-worksheets/

Manasi Dey 7 March 2020

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

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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 Represents a group of  Collective Nouns Represents a

List List group of 

Crowd people, onlookers Galaxy stars, beauties

Mob Rioters, kangaroos, sheep, Hack smokers

theives

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 Smack jellyfish

players

Troupe dancers, performers, monkeys, Knot toads

shrimp

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.

List of Common Collective Nouns

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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.

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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.

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 Column A Column B

Players Herd

Deer Hive

Puppies Galaxy

Fish Pack

Locusts Team

Stars Swarm

Trees Wad

Lies Forest

Notes School

Bees Litter

Table 1: Collective Nouns Worksheet

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

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 Column A Column B

Bevy Technology

Case People

Department Options

Jury Water

Packet Soda

Society Money

Tub Chickens

Brood Pearl

Vault Salt

String Peers

Table 2: Collective Nouns worksheet table

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:

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____________________________________________________________________________________
o. Staff:
____________________________________________________________________________________

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