What is a collective noun?

Definition
	A collective noun is a noun that refers to a group of entities that may be considered either as individuals or as one larger entity.

Discussion
	A collective noun may
	agree grammatically with the verb either as a singular noun or as a plural noun, and take either a singular or plural pronoun.

Examples (English)

Club

Examples:
It is a large club.

They are a large club.
Gang

Examples:
The gang’s all here.

The gang are all here.

Generic
	A collective noun is a kind of
	What is a noun?

Sources
	Crystal 1980 68
	Hartmann and Stork 1972 41
	Pei and Gaynor 1954 41
	Mish 1991 259

Context for this page:

Concept module: collective noun
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): C
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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