Chapter LXIII: Agreement of Verb and Subject. Collective Nouns

=259.= A verb must agree with its subject in number, and since the verb changes its form sometimes to denote number, we must be careful to employ the correct form. We should say, “The rose _is_ red, the roses _are_ red; the wind _does_ blow, the winds _do_ blow; the bird _flies_, the birds _fly_.”

=260.= This agreement of the subject and the verb is a simple matter in English, for in our language verbs have the same form in the singular and the plural, except in four cases:—

(1) The verb _be_, which changes its form considerably to indicate number, in the present and past tenses. See page 128.

(2) Any verb in the second person conjugated in the solemn style. See page 128.

(3) Any verb in the third person of the present tense, indicative mode; as, he _speaks_, they _speak_.

(4) Any verb in the third person of the present perfect indicative; as, he _has_ spoken, they _have_ spoken.

=261.= As _don’t_ is a contraction of _do not_, it should be used only with a plural subject, or with the singular pronouns _I_ and _you_. We say, “I _don’t_ know,” “You _don’t_ know,” “They _don’t_ know,” but “He _doesn’t_ know,” “She _doesn’t_ know,” “It _doesn’t_ come.”

=262.= A compound subject composed of two or more singular nouns should have a plural verb when the parts are joined by any conjunction but _or_ or _nor_. We say, “Either John or Byron _is_ her cousin,” and “Both John and Joe _are_ her cousins.”

When two singular subjects refer to one person, the verb, of course, should be singular. We say, “The secretary and treasurer _was_ absent.”

=263.= When a singular noun is modified by the limiting adjective _each_, _every_, _either_, _neither_, _any_, or _no_, and used as subject of a clause, its verb must be singular; as, “Each flower _is_ a thing of beauty,” “No man _lives_ but loves something.”

In declarative sentences this rule is not likely to be violated, but it is often violated in interrogative sentences, where the verb precedes the subject. We should say, “_Has_ either book been returned?” “_Is_ either of you willing to stay?” “_Was_ neither of the speakers on time?”

=264.= There is a class of nouns like _flock_, _army_, _herd_, _company_, which mean a collection of individuals, and so seem to be plural; but since the individuals forming the collection are thought of as one body, these nouns are in reality singular. They are =collective nouns=.

=265.= The verb of which a collective noun is subject is a singular verb, and the pronoun that stands for a collective noun is the neuter singular pronoun _it_. We say, “The company _is_ on _its_ way to the Philippines.”

NOTE.—When a collective noun is plural in meaning, that is,
when the individuals are thought of as acting separately,
it takes a plural verb; as, “The faculty _are_ not going to
trouble _their_ heads about the kind of shoes we wear.”

=Summary.=—A verb must agree with its subject in person and in number.

A =collective= noun is one that names a group of individuals considered as one body.

A collective noun is usually singular and neuter.

=Exercise 1.=—If you do not already know, find out from the dictionary to what sort of individuals each of these collective nouns is applied.

bevy
choir
committee
constellation
covey
crew
drove
family
fleet
flock
gang
hive
horde
jury
mob
orchestra
regiment
swarm
tribe
troop

=Exercise 2.=—Find all the collective nouns in these sentences. Find evidence as to whether they are singular or plural. If they are plural, tell why. Give the reason for the number of each verb.

1. Forty wolves make a very fair pack indeed.

2. At the edge of the thicket was a straggling colony of low
blueberry bushes.

3. Here, in course of days, there accumulated a shining cluster
of six large white eggs.

4. At last cousin Eben came with a double sleigh and the team
of prancing grays, and then the whole family was off for
Christmas dinner at Aunt Mary’s.

5. Has either of the critics ever heard the new organ?

6. No man in his senses takes such a risk.

7. A school of porpoises were ducking and tearing through the
water.

8. Through the ancient forest, which was a mixed growth of
cedar, water ash, black poplar, and maple, with here and
there a group of hemlocks on a knoll, the light drained down
confusedly.

9. The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by
Nicholas Vedder.

10. Is either of you going up the river in the houseboat?

11. This band of crows numbered about two hundred.

12. Each year the old crow came with his troop, and for about
six weeks took up his abode on the hill.

13. Here and there a band of chimney sweeps were staring in
stupid wonder at the miracle of a showman’s box.

14. Butler tells of an Indian tribe in the Far North that was
all but exterminated by a feud over a dog.

15. On a level spot was a company of odd-looking personages
playing at ninepins.

16. Every word on his papers was correctly spelled.

17. The rest of the horses swept dutifully into line, and the
herd was off.