COLLECTIVE NOUNS

PEOPLE
an army of soldiers a bevy of beauties/girls a band of musicians a band of robbers a board of directors a body of men a bunch of crooks a caravan of gypsies a choir of singers a class of pupils a class of students a company of actors a company of soldiers a congregation of worshippers a crew of sailors a crowd of spectators a crowd of people a dynasty of kings a galaxy of beautiful women a galaxy of film stars a gang of crooks a gang of labourers a gang of prisoners a gang of robbers a gang of thieves a horde of savages a host of angels a line of kings/rulers a mob of rioters a group of dancers a group of singers a pack of rascals a pack of thieves a party of friends a patrol of policemen a posse of policemen a regiment of soldiers a staff of employees a staff of servants a staff of teachers a team of players a tribe of natives a troop of scouts a troupe of artistes a troupe of dancers a troupe of performers a party of friends

THINGS
an album of autographs an album of photographs an album of stamps an anthology of poems an archipelago of islands a bale of cotton a basket of fruit a batch of bread a battery of guns a block of flats a book of exercises a book of notes a bouquet of flowers a bowl of rice a bunch of bananas a bunch of flowers a bunch of grapes a bunch of keys a bundle of rags/old clothes a bundle of firewood/sticks a bundle of hay a catalogue of prices/goods a hail of bullets a hand of bananas (each a finger) a harvest of wheat/corn a heap of rubbish a heap of ruins a hedge of bushes a heap of stones a layer of soil/dirt a library of books a line of cars a list of names a mass of ruins/hair a necklace of pearls an outfit of clothes an orchard of fruit trees a pack of cards a pack of lies a packet of cigarettes a packet of letters a pair of shoes a pencil of rays a quiver of arrows

a chain of mountains a chest of drawers a cluster of coconuts a cluster of grapes a cloud of dust a clump of bushes a clump of trees a collection of coins a collection of curiosities a collection of pictures a collection of relics a collection of stamps a column of smoke a comb of bananas a compendium of games a constellation of stars a cluster of diamonds a cluster of stars a clutch of eggs a crate of fruit a crop of apples a fall of rain a fall of snow a fleet of motor-cars/taxis a fleet of ships a flight of aeroplanes a flight of steps a forest of trees a galaxy of stars a garland of flowers a glossary of difficult words/phrases a group of islands a grove of trees

a range of hills a range of mountains a ream of paper a reel of thread/film a roll of film/cloth a rope of pearls a row of houses a series of events a set of china a set of clubs a set of tools a sheaf of arrows a sheaf of corn a sheaf of grain a sheaf of papers a sheaf of wheat a shower of blows a shower of rain a speck of dust a stack of arms a stack of corn a stack of hay a stack of timber a stack of wood a stock of wood a string of beads a string of pearls a suit of clothes a suite of furniture a suite of rooms a tuft of grass a tuft of hair a wad of currency/notes a wreath of flowers

ANIMALS
an army of ants a bevy of quail a brood/flock of chickens a catch of fish a cloud of flies a cloud of insects a cloud of locusts a colony of gulls a drove of cattle a drove of horses a flight of birds a flight of doves a flight of locusts a flight of swallows a flock of birds a flock of geese a flock of sheep a gaggle of geese a haul of fish a herd of buffaloes a herd of cattle a herd of deer a herd of elephants a herd of goats a herd of swine a hive of bees a host of sparrows a kindle of kittens a litter of cubs a litter of piglets a litter of kittens a litter of puppies a menagerie of wild animals a muster of peacocks a murder of crows a nest of ants a nest of mice a nest of rabbits a pack of hounds a pack of wolves a plague of insects a plague of locusts a pride of lions a school of herrings/other small a a fish a school of porpoises a school of whales a shoal of fish a skein of wild geese in flight a string of horses a stud of horses a swarm of ants a swarm of bees a swarm of insects a swarm of locusts a team of horses a team of oxen a train of camels a tribe of goats a troop of lions a troop of monkeys a zoo of wild animals

PRACTICE! Circle the collective noun that best fits in the sentence. The first one has been done for you. 1) The ( classroom / herd ) of students read the directions on the whiteboard. 2) Sailing around the ( flock / chain ) of islands, the crew of sailors cheered. 3) Bears fish in the river as the ( clouds / runs ) of salmon swam upstream. 4) Slithering and hissing, the ( pits / brigades ) of snakes settled for sleep. 5) Running late, I ran up ( flights / pods ) of stairs in record time. 6) Looking up at the sky, I had a glimpse of the ( packs / galaxies ) of stars. 7) After the holidays, we had ( colonies / heaps ) of trash.

Here are examples using the collective nouns as sentence openers. 1) Classrooms of students followed the directions on the whiteboard. 2) Chains of islands could be seen as we looked through our binoculars. 3) Runs of salmon swan upstream as the bears fished in the deep river. 4) Pits of snakes settled down for sleep as they slithered and hissed. 5) Flights of stairs were taken in record time because I was running late. 6) Galaxies of stars could be seen, as I looked up at the night sky.

Complete each sentence by choosing the correct collective noun from the table below. pod herd pack swarm litter troop pride gaggle flock flight band bunch school brood shoal

1) Swimming in the shallow water was a ______________ of herrings. 2) A ___________ of sheep was happily grazing in the field. 3) All night we could hear the _____________ of wolves howling. 4) Looking out to sea, we noticed a ___________ of dolphins swimming. 5) The _____________ of lions slept all day on the African plains. 6) A long ______________ of steps led to the top of the tower. 7) Our cat has just had a _______________ of seven kittens. 8) We each picked a _______________ of juicy grapes from the vine. 9) The hen waddled by with her _______________ of chicks. 10) A ______________ of thieves stole the precious diamonds. 11) In the jungle, we could see a __________ of monkeys swinging in the trees. 12) An enormous ______________ of locusts ate all the crops. 13) The ______________ of elephants stomped through the water hole. 14) The __________________ of geese made a terrible squawking sound. 15) We were in awe as we watched the ______________ of whales swimming.

Circle all 40 collective noun phrases. The first sentence has been done for you. Parcels of groceries were dumped by a convoy of trucks like a heap of trash on the flight of stairs leading down to the den of thieves. Planning and scheming, the hungry thieves dove into the bags of fresh food as they shared their wealth of information. They studied atlases of maps and the galaxy of stars in an effort to plan their voyage to a chain of islands that was situated over the range of mountains. Dancing and singing, the thieves were acting like a band of merry men knowing that their fleet of ships would deliver them to their desired treasure. A battery of tests would have to be executed prior to boarding the fleet of ships to ensure that the collection of objects captured would not cause suspicion amongst the crew of sailors. A number of mathematicians were acting like a boisterous class of students at the thought of their haul. Mathematicians were required to count and classify the stolen objects. The den of thieves was jingling their ring of keys in anticipation of the fleet of ships arrival. Rowing to the bow the thieves climbed the rope ladder to the washed deck. The crew of sailors greeted them with indifference. The sailors were like a congregation of worshippers; solemn and orderly. Sailing around the chain of islands, the thieves waited impatiently to drop anchor. Spying litters of warthogs squealing after their parents, prides of peacocks fluttering their feathers and flights of swans over head, the thieves' heads filled with success. Cheering, "Profit!" like a troupe of performers, the thieves giggled. The crew of sailors watched like a crowd of onlookers watching a mob of vultures. Landing on white sandy beaches, the thieves set their traps and settled in for a long night of waiting for their prey to snap the traps. Tribes of island natives talked to the animals, warning them of the dangers that lie all around. An ambush of tigers stalked the thieves behind the thicket of trees. Packs of rats scurried through the tall grass cautiously approaching the snoring thieves. Plagues of locust filled the night air. A conspiracy of ravens cawed at the glowing moon spreading the word about the enemy. A banner of knights could not have blocked the onslaught of abuse and noise that the animals ensued upon the thieves. No bounty of treasure ever left the chain of islands.