Question

Fill in the blank with most appropriate options-
I saw a _____ of cows in the field.
(a)Group
(b)Herd
(c)Swarm
(d)Flock

Answer 1

Hint: Read the given sentence carefully. Try to make out the core meaning of it. Find out the subject, predicate and the object of the given sentence.

Complete answer:The given sentence conveys that the speaker saw many cows together, in the field. We have to fill in the blank with a collective noun. There are four different options given, we have to choose the one which is one word for ‘a group of cows'.
Now, let us examine all the given options to find out the correct option :
(a)Group-It is a number of people or things that are together in the same place or that are connected in some way.
(b)Herd-It is a large group of animals that live in a field together. A ‘herd' can only be used for animals, not human beings.
(c)Swarm-It is a large group of insects, especially bees moving around together. They fly or move in large numbers.
(d)Flock- It is a group of sheep or birds. It cannot be used in the given sentence as we are talking about ‘cows' and not ‘birds'.
As we have analysed all the given options, we can easily figure out the correct option. Here, the correct word is – herd. Hence, option ‘b’ is the correct option.

Note:All the other options are plausible distractions. Don’t confuse between ‘group’ and ‘herd’. A group is used for things, whereas a ‘herd’ is only used for animals.