English: Quiz: Collective Nouns

Quiz: Collective Nouns

1. Choose the TRUE statement.

a. Collective nouns are always singular.

b. Collective nouns may function as verbs.

c. Collective nouns may be singular or plural.

2. Which group shows collective nouns ONLY?

a. family, taxes, friends, geese, Falkland Islands

b. crew, couple, herd, staff, Congress

c. cousins, heard, pair, students, United States

3. Fill in the two blanks: To emphasize group members acting as a unit, treat the collective noun as ________ and use a ________ verb.

a. singular/singular

b. plural/singular

c. plural/plural

4. Choose the sentence that emphasizes the collective noun acting as a single unit.

a. The goose flew over the marsh and landed on the river.

b. A flock of geese landed on the river near the marsh.

c. Geese flocked to the marsh near the river.

5. Fill in the two blanks: To emphasize group members acting as individuals, treat the collective noun as ________ and use a ________ verb.

a. singular/singular

b. singular/plural

c. plural/plural

6. Choose the sentence that emphasizes the collective noun acting as individuals.

a. The gymnastics team have been discussing practice times but they can't agree.

b. The gymnastics team has been discussing practice times, but they can't agree.

c. The gymnastics team has been discussing practice times, but it can't agree.