English — Collective nouns and agreement
Some nouns look singular but name a group (team, family, government); the verb can be singular or plural depending on whether the group acts as one unit or as individuals. A separate set of nouns has fixed number: trousers is always plural, news is always singular.
How it works
With a collective noun, use a singular verb when the group acts as one body: The team is winning; The government has decided. Use a plural verb when you picture the members separately: The team are arguing among themselves. Police always takes a plural verb: The police are investigating.
Examples
| Noun and use | Example |
|---|---|
| team — as one unit (singular) | The team is playing well. |
| family — as individuals (plural) | My family are all coming to the wedding. |
| government — collective, either agreement | The government has / have raised taxes. |
| police — always plural verb | The police have arrived. |
| trousers, scissors, jeans — always plural | These trousers are too long. |
| news, information — uncountable, always singular | The news is good. This information is useful. |
Good to know
Don't say a news or an information — they are uncountable. Use a piece of news / a piece of information, and a pair of trousers / a pair of scissors for the always-plural nouns. American English tends to treat collective nouns as singular more consistently (The team is…), while British English more freely allows the plural (The team are…). Keep one agreement within a sentence: The team is playing well and it deserves to win, not …and they deserve…