Understanding Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are singular nouns that represent a group of people, animals, or things. In French, these nouns are grammatically singular but refer to multiple entities.
French collective nouns typically take singular agreement with verbs and adjectives, unlike English where collective nouns can sometimes take plural agreement.
Understanding collective nouns is important for proper verb agreement and natural French expression.
Examples
La famille arrive demain. (The family arrives tomorrow.)
Singular verb with collective noun
L'équipe est prête. (The team is ready.)
Singular adjective agreement
Le groupe chante bien. (The group sings well.)
Singular verb form with collective subject
Common French Collective Nouns
Here are the most frequently used collective nouns in French:
People and Family Groups
Collective nouns for groups of people:
People Collective Nouns
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| la famille | feminine | the family |
| l'équipe | feminine | the team |
| le groupe | masculine | the group |
| la foule | feminine | the crowd |
| le public | masculine | the audience/public |
| la classe | feminine | the class |
Animal Groups
Collective nouns for groups of animals:
Animal Collective Nouns
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le troupeau | masculine | the herd/flock |
| la meute | feminine | the pack (wolves) |
| l'essaim | masculine | the swarm (bees) |
| le banc | masculine | the school (fish) |
| la volée | feminine | the flock (birds) |
Object and Abstract Groups
Collective nouns for groups of things or concepts:
la collection (the collection)
le mobilier (the furniture)
l'ensemble (the set/ensemble)
la série (the series)
la majorité (the majority)
la minorité (the minority)
Agreement Rules with Collective Nouns
French collective nouns follow singular agreement patterns, even though they represent multiple entities.
Examples
La famille française est grande. (The French family is big.)
Singular adjective agreement
Cette équipe joue bien. (This team plays well.)
Singular verb and demonstrative agreement
Le groupe entier participe. (The entire group participates.)
Singular adjective and verb agreement
Verb Agreement
Verbs always agree in singular with collective nouns:
✅ L'équipe gagne. (The team wins.)
❌ L'équipe gagnent. (Wrong - plural verb)
✅ La foule applaudit. (The crowd applauds.)
❌ La foule applaudissent. (Wrong - plural verb)
Adjective Agreement
Adjectives agree with the gender of the collective noun, not the group members:
Une équipe féminine (a women's team) - feminine adjective
Adjective agrees with équipe (feminine), not the players
Un groupe musical (a musical group) - masculine adjective
Adjective agrees with groupe (masculine)
Special Cases and Exceptions
Some collective expressions have special agreement patterns:
Examples
La plupart des étudiants sont présents. (Most students are present.)
La plupart + de + plural noun takes plural agreement
Une foule de gens arrivent. (A crowd of people arrive.)
Sometimes plural agreement when emphasizing individuals
Quantity Expressions
Some quantity expressions with collective meaning:
La plupart + de + plural noun → plural agreement
La plupart des enfants jouent. (Most children play.)
La majorité + de + plural noun → can be singular or plural
La majorité des gens pense/pensent. (Most people think.)
Beaucoup + de + plural noun → plural agreement
Beaucoup d'étudiants étudient. (Many students study.)
Collective Nouns in Context
Understanding how collective nouns work in real French sentences:
Examples
Notre équipe de football a gagné le match.
Our soccer team won the match.
La famille Martin habite près d'ici.
The Martin family lives nearby.
Ce groupe de musiciens joue très bien.
This group of musicians plays very well.
With Prepositions
Collective nouns often appear with prepositions:
un membre de l'équipe (a team member)
le chef du groupe (the group leader)
au sein de la famille (within the family)
parmi la foule (among the crowd)
Common Expressions with Collective Nouns
Many fixed expressions use collective nouns:
Examples
en famille (as a family/with family)
en équipe (as a team)
esprit d'équipe (team spirit)
réunion de famille (family reunion)
chef de groupe (group leader)
membre de l'équipe (team member)
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Here are frequent errors students make with collective nouns:
1. Plural agreement: Using plural verbs with collective nouns
2. Wrong gender: Forgetting the actual gender of the collective noun
3. Confusion with English: Applying English collective noun rules
4. Quantity expressions: Wrong agreement with expressions like "la plupart"
Examples
❌ L'équipe jouent → ✅ L'équipe joue
Wrong: collective noun takes singular verb
❌ Le équipe → ✅ L'équipe
Wrong: équipe is feminine
❌ La plupart des gens pense → ✅ La plupart des gens pensent
Wrong: la plupart + plural takes plural agreement