Collective Nouns Definition

Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a collection or group of multiple

people, animals, or things. However, even though collective nouns refer to multiple individuals, they still usually function as singular nouns in a sentence. This is because they still are technically referring to one thing: the group as a whole. Here are some examples of collective nouns:

• group – A group is a single unit that is made up of a number of
  individuals, whether people or things.
• collection – A collection is a single unit that typically consists of
  many similar things organized together, such as paintings.
• tribe – A tribe is a single unit that is made up of a group of tribe
  members.
• fleet – A fleet is a single unit that is made up of several vehicles or
  vessels, such as ships.
• band – A band is a single unit that consists of a number of different
  musicians.

Collective nouns are used in sentences to refer to a group of people, animals, or things. Here are some examples of collective nouns being used in sentences:

• “The flock of birds flew south for the ”
• “The organization voted to revoke    the     rules that        it    had previously ”
• “The set of tablecloths had ”

 

Similarity to plural nouns

Collective nouns are very similar to plural nouns. Plural nouns are nouns that refer to multiple people, places, or things, and they primarily (but not always) end in “-s,” “-es,” or “-ies.” They are derived from singular nouns, and so are truly plural in form and function. For example, the following words are all plural nouns:

• dogs

• cities

• tables

• oceans

• sleds

Both plural nouns and collective nouns can refer to multiple things. The difference is that collective nouns refer to a group of individuals in a single unit, whereas plural nouns refer to multiple individuals. To understand the difference, consider the following sentence:

• “The musicians played the song ”

This sentence contains the plural noun musicians. This word lets the reader know that there are multiple musicians who played the song beautifully. However, consider the following sentence:

• “The orchestra played the song ”

This sentence contains the collective noun orchestra. This word lets the reader know that there is a group of musicians that played the song beautifully. However, it also lets the reader know that the multiple musicians are arranged into a single group. The plural noun musicians in the first sentence does not do that.

Here are two more examples:

• “The soldiers marched very ” (plural noun)
• “The platoon marched very ” (collective noun)

As in the previous examples, both soldiers and platoon indicate multiple people. However, only platoon lets the reader know that the soldiers are organized into a collective unit.

Singular vs. Plural Use

 

Collective nouns usually function as singular nouns in a sentence, but they are occasionally used as plurals, too. Whether they are used in a singular or plural manner can impact which verbs and pronouns should be associated with the word.

The way we determine in which manner the collective noun should be used is to consider whether the members of the collective noun are being regarded as a single, whole unit, or as multiple individuals. If they are functioning as a whole, then you use singular verb tenses and pronouns; if they are acting individually, then you use plural verb tenses and pronouns.

For example, the following sentence demonstrates singular use of a collective noun:

• “The offense hopes to score a touchdown on its next ”

Here, the collective noun offense refers to the members of the team’s offensive unit functioning as a whole; therefore, it acts as a singular noun in the sentence. As a result, the verb hopes and the pronoun its are also singular.

Compare this to the next sentence, which demonstrates plural use of a collective noun:

• “The jury eat their lunches before they ”

In this sentence, the collective noun, jury, refers to the jury members acting individually. As a result, jury functions as a plural noun in the sentence. This means that the plural pronouns they and their are used, as is the plural form of the verb eat.

Finally, it is worth noting that in British English, it is more common for collective nouns to function as plurals in all instances.

Plural-only collective nouns

Certain collective nouns can only be plural, such as “police.” For example:

✖ “The police is investigating the matter.” (incorrect)

✔ “The police are investigating the matter.” (correct)

However, we can make the noun countable by adding more information to the sentence. If we want to specify a single member of the police, we could say:

• “A police officer is investigating the ”

Here are some other examples of collective nouns that can only be plural:

• people
• children
• poultry
• vermin
• cattle

Collective Nouns and Animals

In the English language, there are many different types of collective nouns that refer to different groupings of animals. There are hundreds of different collective nouns used to describe animal group names, but here are a few common ones:

• flock of birds
• pod of whales
• pack of wolves
• pride of lions
• gaggle of geese
• band of coyotes
• Gatling of woodpeckers
• huddle of penguins
• mob of kangaroos
• school of fish

Quiz

(answers )
1. Which of the following words is a collective noun?
a) birds
b) berries
c) cake
d) team
2. Which word is the collective noun in the following sentence?
“The herd moved north over the mountains.”
a) moved
47
b) north
c) herd
d) mountains
3. Which of the following is not a collective noun?
a) ships
b) group
c) committee
d) government
4. A collective noun is usually _______ in a sentence.
a) plural
b) singular
c) Neither
d) A & B
5. Which of the following is a collective noun that refers to a group of
animals?
a) book
b) snow
c) flock
d) sky

Compound Nouns Definition

A compound noun is a noun consisting of two or more words working

together as a single unit to name a person, place, or thing. Compound nouns are usually made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun, but other combinations are also possible, as well.

Generally, the first word in the compound noun tells us what kind of person or thing it is or what purpose he, she, or it serves, while the second word defines the person or object, telling us who or what it is. For example:

• water + bottle = water bottle (a bottle used for water)
• dining + room = dining room (a room used for dining)
• back + pack = backpack (a pack you wear on your back)
• police + man = policeman (a police officer who is a man)

Like other nouns, compound nouns can be modified by other adjectives. For example:

• “I need to buy a large water bottle.”
• “That’s a beautiful dining room.”
• “My old backpack is still my ”
• “A lone policeman foiled the attempted ”

You can recognize compound nouns because the meaning of the two words put together is different than the meaning of the words separately. For example, water and bottle have their own separate meanings, but when we use them together they mean a particular type of bottle that we drink water from.

Forming compound nouns

As mentioned, compound nouns are formed by combining two or more words, with the most common combinations being noun + noun or adjective

+ noun. However, combinations using other parts of speech are also possible. Below are the various combinations used to create compound nouns.

Noun + noun

There are a great number of compound nouns formed using the noun + noun

combination. For example:

•    backpack

• bathroom

•    bathtub

• bedroom

•    bus stop

• fish tank

•    football

• handbag

•    motorcycle

• shopkeeper

•    tablecloth

• toothpaste

•    wallpaper

• water bottle

•    website

• wristwatch

Adjective + noun

There are also many compound nouns that are formed using the adjective + noun combination. For example:

•    full moon

• blackberry

•    blackbird

• blackboard

•    cell(ular) phone

• mobile phone

•    hardware

• highway

•    greenhouse

• redhead

•    six-pack

• small talk

•    software

• whiteboard

Other combinations

Although the noun + noun and adjective + noun combinations are the most common, there are also plenty of other possibilities for forming compound nouns. For example:

 

Combination	Examples
noun + verb	haircut, rainfall, sunrise, sunset
noun + preposition	hanger-on, passerby
noun                        + prepositional phrase	brother-in-law, mother-in-law
noun + adjective	cupful, spoonful

 

verb + noun	breakfast,        washing                             machine,                             runway, pickpocket, swimming pool
preposition + noun	bystander,     influx,                           onlooker,                           underpants, upstairs
verb + preposition	check-in,       checkout/check-out,                  drawback, lookout, makeup
adjective + verb	dry cleaning, public speaking
preposition + verb	input, output, overthrow, upturn

Writing compound nouns

Compound nouns are very common, both in written and spoken English, and there are spelling, punctuation, and pronunciation norms that we must be aware of if we want to use them correctly.

The three written forms of compound nouns

Writing compound nouns is a bit complicated due to the fact that they can take three different forms.

First, open compound nouns (or spaced compound nouns) are those that are written as two separate words, such as washing machine, swimming pool, and water bottle.

Second, there are hyphenated compound nouns, as in check-in, hanger- on, and mother-in-law.

Third, there are closed compound nouns (or solid compound nouns)

—those that are written as one word, such as rainfall, drawback, and toothpaste.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any rules that tell us which of the three forms is acceptable for a particular compound noun. Some compound nouns are commonly written in two forms, as in website / web site or checkout / check- out, while others, such as bus stop, are strictly used in one form. Where more than one is possible, the form that is more commonly used may depend on the variety of English (American English vs. British English, for example),

the style guide of a publication, or the personal preference of the writer.

If you’re not sure which of the three forms to use, it’s important to check a good, up-to-date dictionary. If you are relying on the spellchecker in a word processor, remember that this has its limits. For example, spellcheck is good for checking whether a particular compound noun can be written as one word (closed); however, if we write a compound noun as two words (open) and it should be written as one word (closed), or if we write it with a hyphen and it should be written without a hyphen, spellcheck will not catch the mistakes.

Finally, remember that, no matter which way the compound noun is written, it always functions grammatically as a single unit.

Pluralizing compound nouns

We usually pluralize a compound noun by adding an “-s” or “-es” to the main word, or the defining word, of the compound noun. This is usually the second word, but not always. For example:

 

Singular	Plural
bedroom	bedrooms
football	footballs
water bottle	water bottles
full moon	full moons

 

BUT

 

Singular	Plural
secretary general	secretaries general
mother-in-law	mothers-in-law
passerby / passer-by	passersby / passers-by

 When it’s not obvious which of the words is the defining word, we pluralize the end of it. For example:

 

Singular	Plural

 

haircut	Haircuts
check-in	check-in
checkout / check-out	checkouts / check-outs
upturn	Upturns

Pronouncing compound nouns

In general, compound nouns are pronounced with the emphasis on the first part of the word. For example:

• BEDroom BLACKbird CHECK-in
• GREENhouse
• MAKEup WATER bottle

Pronouncing compound nouns in this way helps us distinguish words that form a compound noun like blackbird and greenhouse from other instances when the same words would appear together, as in: “Look at that beautiful black bird,” or “I like that green house on the corner.”

Although we normally stress the first word in a compound noun, there are certain exceptions to this pattern. For example, we disregard this rule when pronouncing compound nouns that include titles or proper nouns, as in Secretary GENeral and Mount RUSHmore.

If in doubt, you can use a good dictionary to determine which syllable should be emphasized.

Quiz

(answers )
1. Compound nouns are made up of ________ words.
a) two or more
b) two
c) many
d) one or two
53
2. Closed compound nouns are written ________.
a) as two words
b) as one word
c) with a hyphen
d) with a comma
3. Which of the following sentences does not contain a compound noun?
a) “Did you see that noisy blackbird?”
b) “Let’s go eat breakfast.”
c) “I’d love to live in a green house with a red door.”
d) “Would you like to see my new swimming pool?”
4. Which of the following compound nouns is written incorrectly?
a) spoonful
b) tablecloth
c) hangeron
d) passerby
5. If capital letters show emphasis in pronunciation, which word is
pronounced incorrectly?
a) attorney GENeral
b) PASSERby
c) BACKpack
d) PRIME minister

Nominalization (Creating Nouns) Definition

Nominalization refers to the creation of a noun from verbs or adjectives.

Most of the time, nouns are created from other parts of speech through the use of suffixes. In other cases, the word remains the same but is simply used a different way; this is known as conversion or zero derivation.

Suffixes

 

Suffixes are certain groupings of letters that can be attached to the end of words to change their meaning. Most verbs and adjectives that become nouns are changed using suffixes.

(Be aware, however, that the examples below only show some of the common ways of using suffixes to change verbs and adjectives to nouns; they are not all concrete rules, and the lists of possible suffixes are not exhaustive ones. The best way to learn the spellings of such nouns is by using a good dictionary, or by encountering them in everyday speech and writing.)

Verbs

There are certain patterns that we follow to decide which suffix is needed in order to create a noun from a verb.

Gerunds

The most straightforward way of turning a verb into a noun is through the use of gerunds. These are made by adding the suffix “-ing” to the end of the verb. For example:

• “Walking is very ”
• “I enjoy reading.”
• “Listening is an important aspect of any ”
• “My sleeping has been very disrupted ”
• “Baking is my favorite ”
• “I hate running.”

Note that if the gerund takes any additional information, such as an object, adverb, or prepositional phrase, then this entire group of words (known as a gerund phrase) acts as a noun. To learn more about gerunds and gerund phrases, go to the section on Gerunds in the chapter about Other Parts of Speech.

Nouns of agency and profession

When we turn a verb into a noun to represent someone (or occasionally something) who is an agent of that action, or who performs the action in a professional capacity, we typically use the suffixes “-or,” “-er,” or “-r.” For example:

 

• “My fiancée is an actor.” (Someone who acts.)
• “I’m training to be a teacher.” (Someone who teaches.)
• “The writer is very well ” (Someone who writes.)
• “The company is a major employer in the ” (Something that employs

people.)

• “The projector was broken ” (Something that projects.)

Nouns of recipience

For verbs that become nouns to represent someone who is the recipient of an action, we often use the suffix “-ee.”

Perhaps the most common example of this in modern English is employee

(someone who others employ), as in:

• “The employee is disputing his ” Other examples include:
• “The bank must approve you as the payee.” (Someone who is paid.)
• “There is one more interviewee waiting to be ” (Someone who is

interviewed.)

Nouns of general action

We can use a variety of different suffixes to describe an action in general. The most common of these are “-tion,” “-sion,” “-ance,” “-ment,” and “-ence”; in some instances, we change the ending of the verb slightly in order to take the suffix.

For example:

• “His acceptance of the position was received ” (The verb accept

becomes the noun acceptance.)

• “Thank you for the invitation!” (The verb invite becomes the noun

invitation.)

• “In conclusion, we should see a spike in profits ” (The verb conclude

becomes the noun conclusion.)

• “Government must derive from the will of the population.” (The verb govern becomes the noun government; the verb populate becomes the noun population.))

 

• “Attendance is at an all-time ” (The verb attend becomes the noun

attendance.)

• “I was surprised by my enjoyment of the ” (The verb enjoy becomes the noun enjoyment.)
• “Use the textbook as your reference if you’re ” (The verb refer

becomes the noun reference.)

Some other suffixes that work in this way are “-al” and “-ure,” as in:

• “Failure to find a solution is not an ” (The verb fail becomes the noun failure.)
• “The review will include a quick perusal of your ” (The verb peruse

becomes the noun perusal.)

Adjectives

We change adjectives into nouns when we want to speak of them as general ideas or concepts. Adjectives can take a variety of different suffixes, depending on how they are spelled.

“-ness”

We often use the suffix “-ness” for many adjectives. Most of the time, we can simply add the suffix on to the end of the adjective without making any changes to its spelling. For example:

• “The hardness of diamond makes it a great cutting ” (The adjective

hard becomes the noun hardness.)

• “The child’s meekness is quite sweet.” (The adjective meek becomes the noun meekness.)
• “His gruffness is not ” (The adjective gruff becomes the noun

gruffness.)

• “I don’t care for the roughness of my ” (The adjective rough

becomes the noun roughness.)

• “I don’t think you understand the seriousness of the ” (The adjective serious becomes the noun seriousness.)
• “Please don’t underestimate my gratefulness.” (The adjective grateful

becomes the noun gratefulness.)

However, when we use this suffix with an adjective ending in “-y,” we change

 

“y” to “i”:

• “We’re waiting for some steadiness in the ” (The adjective steady

becomes the noun steadiness.)

• “The teacher puts her students’ happiness above all ” (The adjective

happy becomes the noun happiness.)

Some adjectives ending in a “-t” preceded by a long vowel sound can take this suffix as well:

• “Her greatness is without ” (The adjective great becomes the noun greatness.)
• “The flatness of the Earth was disproven long ” (The adjective flat

becomes the noun flatness.)

“-y”

Other adjectives that end in a “-t” preceded by a consonant will take  the suffix “-y” to become nouns. For example:

• “This project will be fraught with difficulty.” (The adjective difficult

becomes the noun difficulty.)

• “That’s enough of your modesty.” (The adjective modest becomes the noun modesty.)
• “Honesty is a very important ” (The adjective honest becomes the noun honesty.)

“-ity”

When adjectives end in “-e,” they often take the suffix “-ity” to become nouns. However, there is often a change to the spelling of the word. Usually, we simply drop “e” and replace it with “-ity,” as in:

• “There is a scarcity of food in the city.” (The adjective scarce becomes the noun scarcity.)
• “Kindness is a rarity in this ” (The adjective rare becomes the noun

rarity.)

When the word ends in “ble,” though, we have to change “le” to “il,” as in:

• “This project is your responsibility.” (The adjective responsible becomes the noun responsibility.)

 

• “I have no question of your ability.” (The adjective able becomes the noun

ability.)

Uniquely, we also use the “-ity” suffix to change the adjective hilarious to hilarity, even though other adjectives with similar endings (such as serious, grievous, callous, etc.) take the suffix “-ness.”

“-ance” and “-ence”

We often use the suffix “-ance” for adjectives ending in “-ant,” as in:

• “This is of the utmost importance.” (The adjective important becomes the noun importance.)
• “Your ignorance is ” (The adjective ignorant becomes the noun ignorance.)

We often use the suffix “-ence” for adjectives ending in “-ent,” as in:

• “We demand greater independence.” (The adjective independent becomes the noun independence.)
• “Silence is expected during ” (The adjective silent becomes the noun

silence.)

Conversion

When we use a verb or adjective as a noun without changing its spelling in any way, it is called conversion or zero derivation.

Verbs

Conversion is especially common with verbs, and there are many instances where the same word may function as a verb or a noun, depending on the context. For example:

• “Please answer the phone, ” (verb)
• “We’ll need an answer by ” (noun)
• “I run each morning before ” (verb)
• “I’m going for a run later ” (noun)
• “Meteorologists are forecasting a snowstorm ” (verb)
• “The forecast said there would be rain in the ” (noun)

Less commonly, there are instances in which, instead of changing a word’s spelling, we change where we pronounce a stress on the word’s syllables to indicate a shift from a verb to a noun; this change is known as a suprafix. Let’s look at some examples (with the stressed syllable underlined):

• “You need to convert pounds into ” (verb)
• “The church always welcomes recent converts to its ” (noun)
• “Make sure you record the meeting so we can review it ” (verb)
• “I love listening to old records.” (noun)
• “Please don’t insult my ” (verb)
• “We will not forget this insult to our company.” (noun)

The word use can also function as either a noun or a verb, but instead of changing the stress on a syllable, we change the actual pronunciation of the word, as in:

• “We plan to use a diagnostic test to evaluate the problem.” (verb—use is pronounced “yooz”)
• “There is only one use for this ” (noun—use is pronounced “yuce”)

Nominal adjectives

We can also convert adjectives into nouns without changing spelling, but we generally do so by adding the article the before the word. These are known as nominal adjectives. For example:

• “The wealthy have an obligation to help the poor.”
• “We all want the best for ”
• “This law protects the innocent.”

To learn more about how and when these are used, go to the section about

Nominal Adjectives in the chapter on Adjectives.

Infinitives

Lastly, verbs can serve the function of nouns by being used in their infinitive form—that is, the base form of the verb with the particle to. Infinitives are not technically an example of nominalization, because they can also act as adjectives and adverbs, but it’s worth looking at how they work when they function as nouns. For example:

As the subject of a clause

 

• “To err is human; to forgive is ”
• “To study mathematics at Harvard was her ultimate ”
• “To live in the city means adjusting to a completely different ”

As the object of a verb

• “I’m not going unless you agree to go with me.”
• “You appear to be correct.”
• “Please be quiet; I’m trying to study.”

As an object complement

(An object complement is a word or group of words that describe, rename, or complete the direct object of the verb.)

• “I don’t expect you to approve of my decision.”
• “She’s forcing me to work through the weekend.”
• “We need you to make a few more copies.”

Quiz

(answers )
1. Which of the following is used to change the spelling of a verb or adjective
that is made into a noun?
a) prefixes
b) suffixes
c) infixes
d) circumfixes
2. What is the name for nominalization in which the spelling of the verb or
adjective does not change?
a) inversion
b) conscription
c) conversion
d) elision
3. Which of the following suffixes is commonly used to change a verb to a
noun to reflect agency or profession?
61
a) “-or”
b) “-ing”
c) “-ance”
d) “-ence”
4. Which of the following nominalized verbs (in bold) is a gerund?
a) “Adherence to the rules is expected of all students.”
b) “We weren’t expecting her refusal of our offer.”
c) “Winning isn’t everything, you know.”
d) “We need to hire a few more employees.”

 

PART 5