Language/French/Grammar/Collective-nouns
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A collective noun ("nom collectif" in French) is a singular noun that represents a group of things or people. In English, examples of collective nouns include "team," "class," and "herd," while in French, some common collective nouns include "famille" (family), "troupeau" (herd), and "équipe" (team).
In French, collective nouns function like singular nouns and take singular verbs. For example:
- La classe est silencieuse. (The class is quiet.)
- La famille voyage souvent ensemble. (The family often travels together.)
- L'équipe a gagné le match. (The team won the game.)
Note that in some cases, the collective noun can be modified by a plural adjective to indicate the individual members of the group. In these cases, the collective noun still takes a singular verb. For example:
- Les membres de la famille sont tous différents. (The members of the family are all different.)
- Les joueurs de l'équipe sont en forme. (The players on the team are in good shape.)
Here are some other common collective nouns in French:
- Un troupeau de moutons (a herd of sheep)
- Une meute de loups (a pack of wolves)
- Une bande d'amis (a group of friends)
- Une flotte de navires (a fleet of ships)
- Un essaim d'abeilles (a swarm of bees)
Collective nouns are an important part of French grammar and can add variety and specificity to your writing and speaking. Practice using collective nouns in context and pay attention to how they function in sentences.
Other Examples of collective nouns[edit | edit source]
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 as a subject and verb - Agreement[edit | edit source]
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).
Reminder: Categories of Nouns in French[edit | edit source]
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
- See lesson: Subject-verb agreement with collective nouns
Types of Nouns (all lessons)[edit source]
Other Chapters[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Namesake
- Singular or plural when a number of individuals have one item each
- se as an alternative to an English passive
- Omission of the article in compound nouns linked by à
- Past Tense
- Omission of the article in noun constructions linked by de
- Use of the definite article with parts of the body
- Compound Tenses
- Invariable adjectives
- How to use falloir
- « d'autres » VS « des autres »
- "se faire" and "se laisser"
- Measurements and comparisons in French — Numeral nouns and approximations
- The irregular verb être
- Direct object quantifiers and « en »