COLLECTIVE NOUNS NOUNS THAT ARE ALWAYS PLURAL

Many words indicating a number of people or animals are

singular. The following nouns are usually singular. In some
The following nouns are always considered plural. They cannot
cases they are plural if the sentence indicates that the be singular. In order to speak of them as singular, one must say
individual members are acting separately. “a pair of…”

congress family group committee class scissors shorts pants jeans tongs
organization team army club crowd trousers eyeglasses pliers tweezers
government jury majority* minority public
 The pliers were on the table.
*Majority can be singular or plural. If it is alone, it is usually  The pair of pliers was on the table.
singular: if it is followed by a plural noun, it is usually plural.  These scissors are dull.
 The majority believes that we are in no danger.  The pair of scissors is dull.
 The majority of the students believe him to be innocent.
ALONG WITH, TOGETHER WITH, AND AS WELL AS
Examples of collective nouns: A subject compounded by phrases such as along with, together
 The committee has met, and it has rejected the proposal. with, and as well as affects the verb.
 The crowd was wild with excitement.  Jane, along with her sister, is going to do the dishes.
 Our team is going to win the game.  Jane, together with her classmates, needs to prepare a
project.
ANIMAL GROUPS
The following nouns are used to indicate groups of certain
animals. It is not necessary to learn all the nouns; however, EXERCISE: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
they mean the same as group and thus are considered Complete the text with the appropriate form of the verb in
singular. brackets so that Subject-Verb agreement is correct. Bear
in mind that different tenses and voices (like passive
a flock of birds a school of fish a herd of cattle voice) are needed, and that some of the verbs can be in
a pack of dogs a pride of lions negative form.

 The flock of birds is circling overhead.
 The herd of cattle is breaking away.
 A school of fish is being attacked by sharks.
TIME, MONEY, AND MEASUREMENTS
Collective nouns indicating time, money,
measurements used as a whole are singular.
 Twenty-five dollars is too much to pay for that shirt.
 Fifty minutes isn’t enough time to finish the test.
 Five dollars is all I have in my wallet.
 Two miles is too much to run in one day.
A NUMBER OF / THE NUMBER OF
A number of + plural noun + plural verb …
(a number of = many)
The number of + plural noun + singular verb …
 A number of students are going to the class picnic.
 The number of days in a week is seven.
 A number of the applicants have already been interviewed.
 The number of residents who have been questioned on this
matter is quite small.
NEITHER… NOR / EITHER … OR
When subjects are connected by or, the subject closer to the
verb determines the number of the verb.  couldn’t buy many things. Ten dollars ________is
 Neither my cousins nor my uncle is interested in the idea.
 Either Tom or his friends have to attend some math
tutorials.
1. Neither Bill nor Mary _______is going______________ (go)
to the theatre tonight.
2. Skating _______has become______________ (become) very
popular in the past five years.
3. A number of reporters ________were_____________ (be) at
the conference yesterday evening.
and
4. John, as well as his parents, _____usually
goes_______________ (go/usually) to the park on Sundays.
5. The number of mobile phones that _______are
stolen______________ (steal) in the city every day______has
increased_______________ (increase) in the last 2 months.
6. At the moment, the pack of lions _____is being
observed________________ (observe) by a number of
naturalists who _______are______________ (be) interested in
their social habits.
7. Either John or his wife _____makes________________
(make) breakfast every morning.
8. The number of students who _____are
withdrawing________________ (withdraw) from class this
semester ________is_____________ (be) appalling.
9. In last year’s elections, 60% of the voters
_______were______________ (be) between 40 and 60 years
old.
10. Ten years ______were not_______________ (be) enough
to get to know my husband really well.
11. I took the 10 dollars that ______were_______________
(be) on the table to buy some groceries. Unfortunately, I
not_____________ (be) much money nowadays.
12. Either my shoes or your jacket _______is______________
(be) always on the floor.