Collective Nouns: Is Your Team Winning or Are Your Team Winning?

One Group, Two Grammar Patterns

Collective nouns create a special challenge in English listening.

These words name groups of people or things:

• team
• family
• government
• staff
• audience
• committee
• class
• company

Here's the tricky part:

Sometimes they're singular. Sometimes they're plural.

And both can be correct.

The American vs. British Divide

In American English, collective nouns are usually singular:

• "The team is winning."
• "The family is on vacation."
• "The committee has decided."

In British English, collective nouns are often plural:

• "The team are celebrating."
• "The family are arguing."
• "The committee have reached a decision."

This inconsistency creates a major listening problem.

The Meaning Difference

There is a subtle meaning difference:

• Singular → The group as a single unit
• Plural → The individuals in the group

Listen to these examples:

• "The committee is meeting next week." (one unit with one schedule)
• "The committee are sharing their opinions." (individual members doing the sharing)

Why This Matters for Listening

When you listen to news, business discussions, or everyday conversations, collective nouns appear constantly.

If you expect only one pattern, you'll be confused when you hear the other.

Many students default to a "safe" pattern or avoid collective nouns entirely.

Instead of "The audience loved the show," they might say "Many people watching loved the show."

This works, but it means missing natural English patterns.

Listen for Context Clues

How can you know which form to expect?

Listen for context clues.

Is the speaker talking about:

• The group acting as one unit? → Expect singular
• Individual members doing different things? → Expect plural
• An American speaker? → Likely singular
• A British speaker? → Possibly plural

The Most Confusing Collective Nouns

Some collective nouns cause more problems than others:

1. People - This word is already plural! "People are nice." (Never "People is nice.")
2. Family - Americans say "My family is..." while Brits might say "My family are..."
3. Staff - In business English, you'll hear both "Our staff is dedicated" and "Our staff are working overtime."
4. Government - News reports switch between "The government has announced" and "The government have decided."

Practice Listening Exercise

Listen to these sentences. Can you identify whether the collective noun is treated as singular or plural?

1. "The audience was completely silent during the performance."
2. "The crowd are cheering wildly after the goal."
3. "My class is studying English grammar."
4. "The faculty are divided on the new policy."
5. "The band has released a new album."
6. "The team are arguing with the referee."

Tips for Better Listening

When you hear a collective noun:

1. Don't assume it must be singular or plural
2. Listen for the verb form that follows
3. Consider whether the speaker is American or British
4. Notice if the context suggests unity or individuality

Practice with The Less Said Podcast

Listen to Episode 5 of The Less Said Podcast.

Count how many collective nouns you hear. For each one, note whether it's treated as singular or plural. Try to understand why that choice was made.

Remember:

There's no single "correct" rule for collective nouns.

The key is to be flexible in your listening.

Expect both patterns and use context to guide your understanding.

Tomorrow, we'll explore another tricky area: quantifier agreement patterns - why we say "many people are" but sometimes "most of the group is."