29 Collective nouns

Collective nouns are used to describe a group of the same things. People

a group of people (small group)

a crowd of people (large number)

a gang of football fans (rather negative)

Words associated with certain animals

A flock of sheep or birds, e.g. geese/pigeons; a herd of cows, deer, goats; a shoal of fish (or any particular fish, e.g. a shoal of herring/mackerel - note the use of singular here); a swarm of insects (or any particular insect, most typically flying ones, e.g. a swarm of bees/gnats)

Note: a pack of... can be used for dogs or hyenas, wolves, etc. as well as for (playing) cards.

People involved in the same job/activity

A team of surgeons/doctors/experts/reporters/scientists/rescue-workers/detectives arrived

at the scene of the disaster. The crew were all saved when the ship sank, [workers on a ship] The company are rehearsing a new production, [group of actors] The cast were all amateurs, [actors in a particular production] The staff are on strike, [general word for groups who share a place of work,

e.g. teachers in a school, people in an office]

D Physical features of landscapes

In the picture we can see a row of cottages near a clump of trees with a range of hills in the background. Out on the lake there is a small group of islands.

Things in general

a pile/heap of papers (or clothes, dishes,toys, etc.)

a bunch of flowers (or grapes, bananas, berries, etc.)

a stack of chairs (or tables, boxes, logs, etc.)

a set of tools

(or pots and pans,

etc.)

Exercises

1 Fill each gap with a suitable collective noun.

1 There are................................. of mosquitoes in the forests in Scandinavia in the

summer.

2 As we looked over the side of the boat, we saw a................................. of brightly

coloured fish swimming just below the surface.

3 There was a................................. of youths standing on the corner; they didn't look at

all friendly.

4 You'll see a................................. of cards on the bookshelf. Will you fetch them for me,

please?

5 The government has appointed a................................. of biologists to look into the

problem.

2 In each case, one of the examples is wrong. Which one?

1 Company is often used for: actors opera singers swimmers

2 Cast is often used for people in: a play a book a film

3 Crew is often used for the staff of: an ambulance a plane a hospital

4 Pack is often used for: cats hyenas wolves

5 Flock is often used for: sheep starlings pigs

3 Draw a line from the left-hand column to the right-hand column joining collective words with appropriate nouns, as in the example.

1 a clump of--------- houses

2 a range of midges

3 a gang of ----------fir-trees

4 a swarm of elephants

5 a row of bed-linen

6 a heap of mountains

7 a herd of schoolkids

4 Rewrite these sentences using collective words. Don't forget to make the verb singular where necessary.

1 There are some tables on top of one another in the next room.

2 There are a large number of people waiting outside.

3 The people who work there are very well-paid.

4 A large number of sheep had escaped from a field.

5 She gave me six identical sherry glasses.

6 She gave me five or six beautiful roses.

5 Some collective nouns are associated with words about using language. Underline any you can see in this news text and make a note of them in your vocabulary notebook.

The journalists raised a Police replied that he was not

whole host of questions prepared to listen to a string

about the actions of the of wild allegations without

police during the demon- any evidence. In the end, he

stration. There had been a just gave a series of short

barrage of complaints about answers that left everyone

police violence. The Chief of dissatisfied.

Making uncountable words countable

You can make many uncountable nouns singular by adding a bit of or a piece of. Similarly you can make such nouns plural with bits of or pieces of. (Bit is less formal than piece.)

She bought an attractive old piece of furniture at the auction sale.

How many pieces of luggage have you got with you?

I heard a really useful bit of information yesterday.

Chopin wrote some wonderful pieces of music.

Before you go to England I should give you two bits of advice...

He spends all his money buying new bits of computer equipment.

Although bit and piece can be used with the majority of uncountable nouns there are also a number of other words which can be used with specific uncountable nouns.

Weather

We have certainly had a good spell of summer weather this year.

Did you hear that rumble of thunder?

Yes, I did. It came almost immediately after the flash of lightning.

I heard a sharp clap of thunder, then a few rumbles in the distance.

A sudden gust of wind turned my umbrella inside out.

There was a sudden shower of rain this morning.

Did you feel a spot of rain?

Groceries

'Can I have a loaf of bread, a slice of cake*, two bars of chocolate, a tube of toothpaste, two cartons of milk and three bars of soap?'

* Slice can also be used with toast, bread, meat and cheese.

Nature

Look at the ladybird on that blade of grass!

What's happened? Look at that cloud of smoke hanging over the town!

She blew little puffs of smoke out of her cigarette straight into my face.

Let's go out and get a breath of fresh air.

Put another lump of coal on the fire, please, [lump can also be used with 'sugar']

Other

I had an amazing stroke of luck this morning.

I've never seen him do a stroke of work, [only in negative sentences]

I've never seen him in such a fit of temper before.

The donkey is the basic means of transport on the island.

Tights must be the most useful article/item of clothing ever invented.

There was an interesting item of news about France on TV last night.

The phrase a state of can serve to make uncountable nouns singular. The nouns used with state are usually abstract and include chaos, emergency, tension, confusion, health, disorder, uncertainty, poverty, agitation, disrepair and flux, e.g. a state of emergency.

Exercises

I Match the words in the list on the left with their partner on the right.

lightning coal grass news

---- rain

clothing thunder luck

1	a stroke
2	a shower -------
3	an article
4	a lump
5	a flash
6	a blade
7	an item
8	a rumble

Change the uncountable nouns to countable nouns in the following sentences by using either a bit/piece of or one of the more specific words listed in B opposite.

Example: Could you buy me some bread, please? Could you buy me a loaf of bread, please?

1 My mother gave me some advice which I have always remembered.

2 Suddenly the wind almost blew him off his feet.

3 We had some terribly windy weather last winter.

4 Would you like some more toast?

5 He never does any work at all in the house.

6 Let's go into the garden - I need some fresh air.

7 I can give you some important information about that.

8 We could see smoke hovering over the city from a long way away.

9 There is some interesting new equipment in that catalogue. 10 I need to get some furniture for my flat.

Use words from C opposite to fit the clues for the puzzle below.

1 The government announced a state of................. after the earthquake.

2 My granny wouldn't be in such a bad state of ................ now if she hadn't smoked all her life

3 We fell in love with the house although it was in a dreadful state of.................

4 We are still in a state of................ as to

who has won the election.

5 Although this is supposed to be an affluent society, more people are living in

a state of................ here now than for

the last 50 years.

4 Make up a puzzle of your own like the one above using the language practised in this unit. If possible, test a friend.

5 Now decide who or what might be in the following states and write your own sentences using these expressions.

1 chaos 2 flux 3 confusion 4 tension

(See also Unit 32 for more weather words.)

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