Some you are familiar with while others sound unfamiliar. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. The way we determine in which manner the collective noun. Sorted by noun sorted by bird type aerie of eagles aerie of hawks ascension of larks band of jays bevy of doves bevy of quail bevy of swans bouquet of pheasants when flushed brace of ducks brood of chickens brood continue reading.
A collective noun is used to denote a group of persons, animals, places, things, or ideas. If you are looking to name a group of things whilst speaking or writing in the english language, you are going to need to use a collective noun. Here is most important 100 examples of collective nouns. They usually function as singular nouns in a sentence. Some of these terms are very old, while others are newer and have become accepted after growing in use. Information and translations of congregation in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Here, well take a closer look at collective nouns, and provide even more examples, placing them in context so you can gain a greater understanding of how they work. For example, a group of ships is called a fleet, a group of cows is called a herd, a groupd of lions is called a pride, a group of baseball players is called a team, and a group of ants is called a colony. Collective nouns for people collective group names for people. Most terms used here may be found in common dictionaries and general information web sites. This sentence contains the collective noun orchestra. This is a type of noun that we see very often in the language and it is important that you are aware of how they function within a sentence.
Using collective nouns in sentences can be confusing because at times its difficult to differentiate whether to use plural or singular verbs and pronouns. The collective noun congregation is a singular, common, concrete, noun. Congregation definition and meaning collins english. Introduction to collective nouns, collective noun examples. Use our list to learn about collective nouns for people. Collective nouns collective nouns take a singular form but are composed of more than one individual person or item group, jury, team, class, committee, herd.
Discover a collective noun for a group of alligators. Collective nouns for animal groups english learn site. For example, a group of ships is called a fleet, a group of cows is called a herd. Some examples of collective nouns include the words group, congregation, committee, pack, public, minority, audience, jury, and band.
Albans, dating back to 1486, was a guide to hawking and hunting, and listed many of the collective nouns for animals we still use today. Collective nouns for fish, reptiles and amphibians akademia. As you can see, you simply substitute the word group with one of the collective nouns on our list above when describing a group of starlings. What is the collective noun of congregation answers. The tricky thing is that, when trying to figure out how to use collective nouns, the question of whether to use a singular or plural verb form depends on whether you are writing in american or british english. Did you know the collective noun for butlers is a sneer of butlers. Collective noun is a name used for a group of people, animals or objects that we. Words like group, regiment, and furniture are collective noun examples. While these are technically singular nouns, they are commonly used as if they were plurals, specially in british english. This is a listing of every animal congregation i could find after scouring the web.
What is the noun for the collective noun congregation. Apr 11, 2015 the collective noun congregation is a singular, common, concrete, noun. Using collective nouns in sentences can be confusing because at times its difficult to differentiate whether to use plural or. Congregation definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Collective nouns in english and how to use them collective nouns singular or plural.
Collective nouns, or group nouns, are nouns such as family, government, class or committee, which refer to groups of people or things. This post titled, list of collective nouns for fish, reptiles and amphibians, contains the different collective nouns that we use for various types of fish, reptiles and amphibians. Click column headings with arrows to sort collective nouns for birds. A collective noun refers to pluralonly words such as cattle for cows and people for person. Collective nouns persons a band of musicians a bevy of ladies a board of directors a body of men a bunch of crocks a caravan of gypsies a choir of singers a class of students a company of actors a congregation of worshippers a crew of. Typically, words that identify more than one person, place, or thing are made plural in the english language. Collective nouns for people collective group names for. Many of the collective nouns for people are based around occupations and professions, while others are based of family, gender, nationality and other areas. Gmat prep verbal sentence correction collective nouns and generic nouns as subjects subjectverb agreement can be tricky when the subject of our sentence is a collective noun for a generic noun. Did you know the first list of collective nouns was published in the book of st albans circa 1500 and it wasnt definitive it was based on folklore, humor and the whim of the publisher and its.
Not only do we learn something about church from the definitions and a consideration of its two spiritual usages universal and local church, we are also enlightened when we consider the fact. Most members of the congregation begin arriving a few minutes before services. The word congregation is unusual, in that it began as a general term and has grown more specific, whereas most collective. Wikipedia has a more complete and scholarly list of names here. What is the noun for the collective noun congregation answers. Note that many of these terms are humorous and appear only in word lists. Collective nouns are words that, although treated as singular, describe a group of people, places, things or ideas. The collective noun for alligators is the word you would use to describe a group of alligators. A gathering of faithful in a temple, church, synagogue, mosque or other place of worship. List 3 collective nouns list 1 singular and plural nouns.
Learn collective nouns for insects and other groups of animals. This list of collective nouns for animals also called collective terms and terms of venery can never be definitive but it is fun. Dec 14, 2015 the noun congregation is a standard collective noun for. This is a listing of every animal congregation i could find after. We have identified the following words that you could call a group of alligators. If the collective noun team is acting altogether as a single unit, you use a singular verb. Collective nouns are names for a collection or a number of people or things. A group of plovers is also known as a congregation, but plovers are not reptiles. The large fish swam as fast as possible from the congregation of alligators. This is a type of noun that we see very often in the language and it is important that you are aware of how they. Some collective nouns are specific to one kind of thing, especially terms of venery, which identify groups of.
The word congregation is an example of an proper, compound, abstract, or collective noun. In this case i see the first as being intended, so the congregation kneels down. For many animals, particularly domesticated ones, there are specific names for males, females, young, and groups the bestknown source of many english words used for collective groupings of animals is the book of saint albans, an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to juliana berners. Jul 07, 2015 a congregation of alligators, crocodiles, or plovers crocodiles and alligators, both reptilian predators, are social animals and tend to group together. Nouns like jury, committee, or group are collective nouns. The noun congregation is a standard collective noun for.
Set your browser to full screen and zoom out to show as many columns as possible. For some animals, there is more than one collective noun, reflecting how close people have been to them througout history. Collective nouns should not be confused with mass nouns. Standard terms for particular groups are listed first in each group and shown in bold. The definition of a congregation is a gathering of people, or people who share the same faith and habitually attend the same church. This page lists the collective nouns used for groups of people.
Fans of collective nouns are familiar with an exaltation of larks, which was the title of a book by james lipton on collective nouns. As you can see, you simply substitute the word group with one of the collective nouns on our list above when describing a group of alligators. Why the collective noun cowardice is used to describe a group or gathering of them is puzzling to me. Less common nouns are pod, congregation, dissimulation, or volery. Congregation dictionary definition congregation defined. A collective noun looks singular, but it can be treated as singular or plural depending on whether the word refers to the group as a single entity or to its members as individuals. Glossary of collective nouns by collective term wiktionary. Aug 25, 2008 congregation can be a collective noun, in which case it takes the singular, or be seen as representing a group of individuals, in which case it takes the plural.
Definition of congregation noun in oxford advanced learners dictionary. Youll probably with common terms such as crowd or team but what group could wheeze possible refer to. Often, they are followed by a prepositional phrase specifying what they are composed of. But this particular collective noun goes back to the 15th century, and comes from one of the most famous books on collective nouns in print. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are not specific to one kind of thing, such as the word group, which can be applied to people a group of people or dogs a group of dogs or other things. Adducations list of collective nouns for birds also includes the individual baby names, males and females and plural for each bird species. Start typing in the filter table box to find specific bird terms inside the table of collective nouns for birds and poultry. Well, the most common collective nouns for any group of birds are flock or flight. List of collective nouns by collective noun armada of ships army of caterpillars, frogs, soldiers bank of circuits battery of tests bed of clams, snakes belt of asteroids bevy of beauties bouquet of flowers brood of hens caravan of camels cete of badgers chain of islands clan of hyenas class of students cloud of gnats clowder of cats. For many animals, particularly domesticated ones, there are specific names for males. Here is most important collective nouns related to persons, animals and things.
In linguistics, a collective noun is a collection of things taken as a whole. May 29, 2019 collective nouns are names for a collection or a number of people or things. Were not sure of the origin of this collective noun though we think it could be related to the tincan they end up in. Collective noun for sardines is a family of sardines we love this one because it calls to mind images of a nuclear family of small fish. Collective nouns denote groups of people, animals, objects, concepts, or ideas as a single entity. No, the collective noun for worshipers in church are a congregation of worshipers, an assembly of worshipers, a gathering of worshipers. If any collective nouns are missing or need editing, please leave a comment using the form at the bottom of the page. Sep 01, 2017 we continue our series with yet another type of noun. Apr 22, 2017 collective nouns for animal groups congregation, nest, army, pace, troop, cete, sloth, herd, gulp and etc follow the list for collective noun list and example sentences. The table below shows a long list of collective nouns used in english. Here is a list of collective nouns in alphabetical order. A pride of lions, a murder of crows, a crash of rhinos, and every other collective noun for animals.
Collective nouns are used to refer to a group and, as with other nouns, may include people, places, ideas, or things. For example, the united states womens national soccer team is bound by the terms of its collective bargaining agreement with u. See if you like them and share your personal favourites in the comments if our designer gets the time, she might just create a new illustration for you a bike of bees. Collective nouns list in english english study here. Words like group, herd, and array are collective noun examples. A collective noun is a word for a group of specific items, animals or people.
The of the british royal navy was very strong in the nineteenth. Congregation definition of congregation by merriamwebster. Check out these examples using congregation as a collective noun. This word lets the reader know that there is a group of musicians that played the song beautifully.
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