Collective Nouns Exercises

Collective nouns name groups of people or things: team, family, class, government, audience, committee. In British English, these nouns can take either a singular or plural verb depending on meaning. Use a singular verb when the group acts as one unit: "The team is winning the match" (one team, one result). Use a plural verb when the members act as separate individuals: "The team are arguing about the plan" (members disagree individually).

Some words, like news and mathematics, look plural because they end in -s, but they are always singular (these are covered in a separate exercise). More importantly for this topic, police always takes a plural verb: "The police are investigating." People is usually plural: "People are waiting outside." American English generally treats all collective nouns as singular, but in British English the choice depends on whether you see the group as one unit or as individuals. Cambridge and IELTS examinations accept both forms when the meaning supports the choice.