Question

Choose the collective noun(s) from the following sentence.
All players in the team performed well.
(a)team
(b)players
(c)team, players
(d)none

Answer 1

Hint: The word ‘collective’ means a collection of singular things. Go through the options and try to figure out which one of them agrees with the above meaning. You use the elimination method to eliminate the undesired options, it will leave you with the correct answer.

Complete answer: A noun is a naming word, that is it is the most basic form of language. It is used to name things/objects/people/places. So, in order to understand words, nouns are very important.

A collective noun is a collection of things taken as a whole, as in multiple parts make one whole. For example, the word ‘murder’ is used to describe a group of crows.
Now let’s have a look at our available options one by one:
(a)team - The word ‘team’ refers to ‘a group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport’, so this word can be described as a collection of things. This is a collective noun. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
(b)players - The word ‘players’ refers to ‘persons taking part in a sport or game’, so this word can be described as a plural common noun. This is not a collective noun. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(c)team, players - These two words are different in number, one is singular while one is plural. However, the collective noun is only the first one. The second term is a part of that first term. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(d)none - This is an incorrect option as we have already found the correct option from the above-given options, it is option ‘a’ which is the collective noun. So, this is not the required answer.

Note: Each option gives you a different answer. Try to identify what ‘collective nouns’ mean. This will help you to choose the correct option. Don’t confuse between the singular and plural forms.