Difference between revisions of "Language/French/Grammar/Collective-nouns"
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== Collective noun | == Collective noun and Verb Agreement == | ||
If the collective noun is the subject of a clause, the verb is mostly in the singular. This is different from English, where the verb can be either singular or plural: | If the collective noun is the subject of a clause, the verb is mostly in the singular. This is different from English, where the verb can be either singular or plural: | ||
*Le gouvernement a (NOT "ont") décidé d'interdire les cigarettes dans les lieux publics | *Le gouvernement a (NOT "ont") décidé d'interdire les cigarettes dans les lieux publics | ||
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*Notre équipe s'entraîne (NOT "s'entraînent") le mardi soir | *Notre équipe s'entraîne (NOT "s'entraînent") le mardi soir | ||
<blockquote>Our team trains/train on Tuesday evenings</blockquote> | <blockquote>Our team trains/train on Tuesday evenings</blockquote> | ||
Although collective nouns can stand alone in a sentence, they are often followed by a complement (a group of something). The tricky part about using collective nouns is determining whether the verb should agree with the collective noun (and be singular) or with its complement (and be plural). | |||
* See lesson: [[Language/French/Grammar/Subject-verb-agreement-%E2%80%94-Verb-agreement-with-collective-noun-subjects|Subject-verb agreement with collective nouns]] | |||
Revision as of 22:44, 23 November 2021
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Reminder: Categories of Nouns in French
This video explains the difference between certain categories of nouns that are relevant to your French learning: common and proper nouns, concrete and abstract nouns, countable and uncountable nouns, and collective nouns.
Chapters
- 0:00 Categories of nouns
- 0:19 Common/Proper
- 0:55 Concrete/Abstract
- 1:28 Countable/Non-countable
- 2:12 Collective nouns
- 3:02 Note about categories of nouns
- 3:19 Recapitulative table
Collective Nouns: Definition
A collective noun ("nom collectif" in French) is a singular noun that represents a group of things or people.
Examples of collective nouns
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Un archipel (d'îles) | An archipelago (of islands) |
| Un banc (de poissons) | A school (of fish) |
| Un comité | A committee |
| Un cortège (de personnes, de choses) | A procession (of people, things) |
| Un essaim (d'abeilles) | A swarm (of bees) |
| Un gouvernement | A government |
| Un peuple | people |
| Un tas | A pile |
| Une assiette (de légumes) | A plate (of vegetables) |
| Une assistance | An audience |
| Une bande (de jeunes) | A bunch (of young people) |
| Une batterie (de missiles) | A battery (of missiles) |
| Une couvée (de poussins) | A brood (of chicks) |
| Une équipe | A team |
| Une flottille (de pédalos) | A flotilla (of pedal boats) |
| Une foule (de gens) | A crowd (of people) |
| Une harde (de cerfs, de sangliers) | A herd (deer, wild boar) |
| Une main-d'oeuvre | A workforce |
| Une meute (de chiens, de loups) | A pack (of dogs, wolves) |
| Une pile (d'assiettes) | A stack (of plates) |
| Une poignée | A handful or fistful |
| Une série | A series |
| Une troupe (de soldats, de lions) | A troop (of soldiers, of lions) |
| Une volée (de corbeaux) | A flock (of crows) |
Collective noun and Verb Agreement
If the collective noun is the subject of a clause, the verb is mostly in the singular. This is different from English, where the verb can be either singular or plural:
- Le gouvernement a (NOT "ont") décidé d'interdire les cigarettes dans les lieux publics
The government has/have decided to ban cigarettes in public places
- Notre équipe s'entraîne (NOT "s'entraînent") le mardi soir
Our team trains/train on Tuesday evenings
Although collective nouns can stand alone in a sentence, they are often followed by a complement (a group of something). The tricky part about using collective nouns is determining whether the verb should agree with the collective noun (and be singular) or with its complement (and be plural).
- See lesson: Subject-verb agreement with collective nouns