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Old 30-May-2003, 03:24
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Default Re: Collective nouns?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ESL-lover
Hi my friends...........

Tell me about collective nouns like family,people etc....
Is it singluar or plural?

Can I say family is or family are?


Thank you very much....................
Nouns like family are, in AE, almost invariable construed as singular. Thus it would be: "The family is...." In BE it's a little more complicated. If the emphasis is on the collective use singular. If the emphasis is on the individuals use plural.

People is not a collective noun. Instead, it is a plural of person.

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