Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable collective noun, choosing from the alternatives given below:
A __________ of cattle was grazing.

a) team
b)crowd
c) herd
d) packet

Answer 1

Hint: A collective noun refers to a noun that is singular in form but refers to a group of people or things.

Complete answer:
In the given question, we have to fill in the blank with a collective noun that correctly represents ‘cattle’ as a plural entity.
Cattle refers to domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age.
Let us analyze the options given to us in this question:
Option (a.), 'team', refers to a cooperative unit (especially in sports).
Therefore, option (a.) is incorrect as it does not suitable represent cattle as a collective unit.

Option (b.), ‘crowd', refers to a large number of things or people considered together.
Therefore, option (b.) is incorrect as it is generally not used to collectively refer to animals.

Option (c.), ‘herd', refers to a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans.
Therefore, option (c.) is correct.

Option (d.), ‘packet', refers to a collection of things wrapped or boxed together.
Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as it is generally not used to collectively refer to animals.

Note: In this question, keep in mind that the word ‘team’ can also be used to refer to two or more draft animals that work together to pull something. However, in this sentence, the cattle are ‘grazing’ and not ‘pulling’ anything, so it is the incorrect collective noun for this question.