Thursday January 27, 2011

Collective nouns

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED by FADZILAH AMIN

I HAVE a problem with pronouns. In your column on Jan 6, you wrote: “A herd of cows that belong to the farmer are grazing in his field.”

According to my English tuition teacher, “a herd of cattle is”, because there is only ONE herd of cattle. Other examples include: A bunch of bananas does not cost much. However, we say a group or a number of students are ... .

Who is correct? – Lee

Your question is not really about pronouns, but about whether to use a singular verb or a plural one after: a collective noun/quantifier + of + a plural noun

The words “herd”, “flock”, “bunch” and “group” are all collective nouns which are nouns that refer to groups of people or things. “A number of” is a quantifier, which is a word or phrase used before a noun to refer to its quantity or amount.

In British English, either a singular or a plural verb can be used with a collective noun, after phrases like “a herd of cows/cattle (cattle here is a plural noun)”, “a flock of sheep”, “a bunch of bananas/flowers/grapes”, or “a group of students”. A plural noun and verb are used after the quantifier “a number of” and some other quantifiers, while others are used with singular or uncountable nouns and singular verbs.

Generally, in using a collective noun, when the group is seen as a unit or impersonally, a singular verb is used. But when the group is seen as a collection of individuals, a plural verb is used. Here are some examples from the Internet, with my comments on each:

Herd

1a. “In much of Africa, a herd of cattle is more than just cows. It’s a savings account, protein store, dowry ...” (from African Content, a website about Africa)

1b. “A herd of cattle are meandering the other way down the road. Seeing me eating, one cow saunters up to the table to investigate, only to be shooed away by the waitress.” (telegraph.co.uk travel section)

In 1a, the singular verb “is” is used after “a herd of cattle” because the emphasis is on what the whole herd as a unit means to the owner.

In 1b, however, “are” is used after “a herd of cattle” because it is clear that the cattle are regarded as a collection of individual cows, especially with one of them behaving in a most individual way.

Bunch

2. “Here is what she says, ‘the inspiration to bake a banana cake always seems to strike when a bunch of bananas are mottling on the counter ...’ ” (from Dujour Magazine, an online lifestyle magazine)

In the above extract, “a bunch of bananas” is followed by the plural verb “are mottling” (which means getting spotty due to over-ripeness) because the bunch is regarded as a collection of individual bananas, each of them getting brown spots. In contrast, your sentence, “A bunch of bananas does not cost much.”, speaks of the bunch as a unit with a price for the whole bunch, not for the individual bananas.

Group

3a. “Vienna’s flak towers have long been abandoned – they are too painful a reminder of the city’s Nazi past. Now a group of students is campaigning to get them reopened ...” (New Statesman, July 31, 2008)

3b. “All Learning Area Reviews include a student discussion panel where a group of students are interviewed by the Headteacher to establish their views on the learning and teaching in that Subject Area.” (from the website of Hedingham School, Essex)

In 3a, “a group of students” is seen as a unit with a common aim, campaigning to get Vienna’s flak towers reopened. So the singular “is” is used after the phrase.

In 3b, however, “a group of students” is followed by a plural passive verb “are interviewed”, because although they may be interviewed together in the discussion panel, the use of the plural “their views” indicate that their responses are given as individuals with different views.

Mind Our English

Thursday January 27, 2011

Collective nouns

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED by FADZILAH AMIN

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