Apocalypse Nouns: Exceptions to Plurality

It’s gotta be the confusion about what marks a noun as “collective” that makes people bend grammar all over the place trying to sound proper. You’ve probably heard something like this one (and maybe you write or say it, too): “The band, Apocalyptica, are appearing in Sweden this weekend.” The band ... are appearing.

Sounds just plain wrong, doesn’t it? Or does it?

Concert Goers - WIX Stock Photo

Yes, it does, but a large majority of people believe it’s right, because they know that a band is made up of more than one person (except for a “one-man-band,” but that’s a rare scenario — it’s still multiple instruments that make it up). While a band usually has multiple members (a plural noun), collectively, the members are “banded together” into a singular group (single noun) so that instead of having to refer to each individual separately, all the members may be noted in one unit.

“The band is appearing in Sweden this weekend.” (singular noun & verb)

“The band members are touring in Norway, and then Russia, afterward.” (adj. + plural noun & verb)

What are some other collective nouns requiring singular verbs that tend to be confused in the same fashion? I’ve made up a partial list of collective nouns that you’ll also often hear used incorrectly; any word from the following list will properly fit in the blank:

The __________ is . . .

Band, Group

Couple

Team

Troop, Unit

Board, Committee

Litter, Herd, Gaggle, Clutch

Party

List

Congress

Mob, Crowd

Class

Now, let’s flip the list to mirror its plural counterparts:

The _________ are . . .

Musicians, Members

Individuals

Athletes, Scientists, Competitors, Mates, etc.

Scouts, Soldiers

Trustees, Members

Kittens, Puppies, Cows, Cattle, Geese, Eggs, etc.

Goers, Attendees, Members

Items, Events, Activities, Chores, etc.

Senators, Representatives

People, Persons

Students

I think the main reason a lot of us tend to get singular/plural-collective use confused is because we first heard something about it in grade school; most likely, back then, we dubiously listened to our English (“Language Arts,” anyone?) teachers using a bunch of perplexing, long words and “collective” was tossed in there with one of those lessons on “exceptions to the rules.” That phrase was pretty much enough to put the class in a tailspin before the teacher even started explaining.

I’m a little worried that trying to correct this confusion about whether to use collective nouns with singular verbs may be reaching the point of futility. Rampant, social-media sharing of inaccuracies seems to have perpetuated the notion that most of us must not know that these collective nouns specifically indicate multiples of one thing or another grouped together, and so these nouns must be redundantly qualified by using plural verbs to remind us.

It’s just not so.

I know — you may know, too — that the band, Apocalyptica, has several classically trained virtuosos in it. Note I didn’t say “the band have virtuosos.” The band is phenomenal, in my opinion. And the band members are pretty damned hot, too.

#collectives #badwritinghabits #qualifiers #singularvsplural #redundancy