He is, we will suppose, temporarily unemployed through the production of a glut of coal, and he goes about the world trying to see the fine and noble collective achievements that justify the devotion of his whole life to humble toil.

Folk and fry are collective nouns.

The word plurality, like other collective nouns, is literally singular: as, "To produce the latter, a plurality of objects is necessary.

3.Most collective nouns of the neuter gender, may take the regular plural form, and be represented by a pronoun in the third person, plural, neuter; as, "The nations will enforce their laws."

For a further elucidation of the construction of collective nouns, see Rule 15th, and the observations under it.

The words, "part," "number," "train" and the like, are collective nouns; and, as such, they often have plural verbs in agreement with them.

If these latter authors mean, that collective nouns are permanently divided in import, so that some are invariably determined to the idea of unity, and others to that of plurality, they are wrong in principle; for, as Dr. Adam remarks, "A collective noun, when joined with a verb singular, expresses many considered as one whole; but when joined with a verb plural, it signifies many separately, or as individuals.

3.Of the construction of the verb and collective noun, a late British author gives the following account: "Collective nouns are substantives which signify many in the singular number.

Collective nouns are of two sorts: 1.

Collective nouns which form a regular plural, such as, number, numbers; multitude, multitudes; have, like all other substantives, a singular verb, when they are in the singular number; and a plural verb, when they are in the plural number; as, 'A number of people is assembled; Numbers are assembled.

To this, his main text, the author appends a note, from which the following passages are extracted: "There are few persons acquainted with Grammar, who may not have noticed, in many authors as well as speakers, an irregularity in supposing collective nouns to have, at one time, a singular meaning, and consequently to require a singular verb; and, at an other time, to have a plural meaning, and therefore to require a plural verb.

Hence, thirdly, his two rules, (though, so far as they go, they seem not untrue in themselves,) by their limitation under this false division, exclude and deny the true construction of the verb with the greater part of our collective nouns.

6.Murray's doctrine seems to be, not that collective nouns are generally susceptible of two senses in respect to number, but that some naturally convey the idea of unity, others, that of plurality, and

But these names are sometimes collective nouns singular; and, as such, they may have verbs of either number, according to the sense; and may also form regular plurals, as peoples, and folks; though we seldom, if ever, speak of gentries; and folks is now often irregularly applied to persons, as if one person were a folk.

2.When two collective nouns of the singular form are connected by or or nor, the verb may agree with them in the plural number, because such agreement is adapted to each of them, according to Rule 15th; as, "Why mankind, or such a part of mankind, are placed in this condition.

Do collective nouns generally admit of being made literally plural?

In respect to collective nouns, how is it generally determined, whether they convey the idea of plurality or not?

What is stated of the rules of Adam, Lowth, Murray, and Kirkham, concerning collective nouns?

Does Murray's notion, that collective nouns are of different sorts, appear to be consistent or warrantable?

What is observed of collective nouns used partitively?

Why do collective nouns singular, when connected by or or nor, admit of a plural verb?

Collective nouns, forms of, sing. and plur.

with collective nouns do.

Common nouns include abstract nouns [happiness] and collective nouns

A common mistake is to use the plural forms with singular collective nouns, as "kind," "class," "sort.