There are certain collective nouns giving the same meaning of the word ‘Group’, such as Flock, Flight, Bunch, Herd, Brood etc..and each of them is strictly to be used with its own matching plural nouns.
For example, if you have to refer to a group of keys, then you should only say “ a bunch of keys”, because the collective noun ‘ bunch’, meaning same as the word ‘group’, matches only with the plural noun ‘keys’. So it is better to say ‘ A bunch of keys’ than ‘ A group of keys’. Likewise it is correct to say as follows,
- A herd of cattle.
- A fleet of ships.
- A brood of hens etc…
So, here in this topic, we are going to sort out the collective nouns, giving the same meaning of the word ‘ Group’, and their matching plural nouns.
| COLLECTIVE NOUNS | PLURAL NOUNS |
| Flock | Ducks,Birds, Camels, Sheep, Tourists. |
| Flight | Birds, Doves, Pigeons, Insects, Stairs. |
| Brood | Chickens, Hens. |
| Parliament | Owls. |
| Company | parrots, Actors. players, Soldiers. |
| Herd | Goats, Asses, Buffaloes, Cattle, Cows, Deers, Elephants, Giraffes. |
| Muster | Pea-cocks. |
| Orchestra | Muscians. |
| Posse | Police |
| Pity | Prisoners |
| Host | Sparrows . |
| Colony | Bats, Ants, Frogs. |
| Sloth | Bears. |
| Litter | Cubs, Puppies. |
| Pack | Dogs, Hounds, Wolves. |
| Skulk | Foxes. |
| Team | Horses. |
| Troop | Kangaroos, Monkeys, Scouts. |
| Bury | Rabbits. |
| Swarm | Rats, Bees, Flies. |
| Shoal, School. | Fish. |
| Bask | Crocodiles. |
| Congregation | Crocodiles, Worshippers. |
| Army | Frogs. |
| Den | Snakes. |
| Giggle | Girls. |
| Scoop | Journalists. |
| Troupe | Artists, Dancers, Performers. |
| Bevy | Beauties, Ladies. |
| Galaxy | Beauties, Stars. |
| Board | Directors. |
| Panel | Experts, Jurymen. |
| Bench | Judges, Magistrates. |
| Gang | Laborers, Prisoners, Thieves. |
| Pile | Arms |
| Flotilla | Boats |
| Hail | Bullets |
| Lock | Hair |
| Budget | News |
| Heap | Ruins, Stones |
| Ball | Wool. |
| Pride | Lions. |
| Stack | Librarians, Arms, Corn. |
| Cluster | Grapes, Nuts, Stars. |
| Ring | Keys. |
| Bundle | Sheaf, Hay. |
| Nest | Rumours |
| Pair | Shoes. |
| Constellation | Stars. |
| Anthology | Stories. |
| Forest | Trees. |
| Grove | Trees. |
| Bunch | Bananas, Flowers, Grapes, Keys. |
| Volley | Arrows, Bullets |
While you going through the above factors, you can understand one thing that some collective nouns like Flock, Flight, Ring etc can commonly be used to mention two or more plural nouns.
Eg; We can say in both ways as follows,
i. A flock of birds or A flight of birds.
ii. A bunch of keys or A ring of keys.
