文法跟讀 In-Tense Ep.044: 名詞篇- Collective Nouns 集合名詞

Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing and this is InTense Episode 44.

Guys, it is our last episode of nouns! And in this episode we will be looking at collective nouns. So to recap, thus far we have seen common nouns, the most common cats and dogs, proper nouns, easy to spot because they have a capital in front of the name, and then compound nouns, words that are put together to make one thing.

Good, now the last one would be collective nouns, and they are what we use to name groups of people or things, a herd, a family, an audience, the crowd. Those are all collective nouns. Now some of these are very difficult, because especially specific ones, about certain animals, because here's the interesting thing, we have a herd of buffalo, but a flock of sheep. Those are things unfortunately many people struggle with and the only way you can get past learning them would be to just say, a lot of sheep or a group of sheep, which is sort of okay, but it's actually a flock of sheep. So, let's look at some examples and I again will underline the collective nouns in the transcript. Let's go!

Did the audience enjoy the show? Yes, the audience enjoyed the show.

Did the audience enjoy the show? No, the audience did not enjoy the show.

Do you have a large family? Yes, I have a large family.

Do you have a large family? No, I do not have a large family.

Does the choir sing beautifully? Yes, the choir sings beautifully.

Does the choir sing beautifully? No, the choir does not sing beautifully.

Do your staff work hard? Yes, my staff work very hard.

Do your staff work hard? No, my staff do not work hard.

Is the album full of pictures? Yes, the album is full of pictures.

Is the album full of pictures? No, the album is not full of pictures.

Is the pile of leaves very tall? Yes, the pile of leaves is very tall.

Is the pile of leaves very tall? No, the pile of leaves is not very tall.

Is the crowd happy? Yes, the crowd is happy.

Is the crowd happy? No, the crowd is not happy.

Will the committee make the decision? Yes, the committee will make the decision.

Will the committee make the decision? No, the committee will not make the decision.

Is the herd of elephants easy to see? Yes, the herd of elephants is easy to see.

Is the herd of elephants easy to see? No, the herd of elephants is not easy to see.

Did he order the whole set? Yes, he ordered the whole set.

Did he order the whole set? No, he did not order the whole set.

Is he in a band? Yes, he is in a band.

Is he in a band? No, he is not in a band.

Is the team doing well? Yes, the team is doing well.

Is the team doing well? No, the team is not doing well.

Is the pride of lions under the tree? Yes, the pride of lions is under the tree.

Is the pride of lions under the tree? No, the pride of lions is not under the tree.

Well there you go guys! Again, if you are interested, you can just Google examples of collective nouns and you can get lists and lists. Again, the trickiest part would be for certain animals, because each group of animals has his own unique word to describe it. Ok, so practice, repeat and I'll catch you in the next episode, bye!