A collective noun names a group treated as a single thing: team, family, government, staff, audience, committee, jury, crew, company, crowd, class, group, public, band, police. These words are singular in form but refer to multiple people, which creates a question: singular verb or plural verb?
The answer depends on meaning — and on which variety of English you follow.
British English: it depends on the meaning
In British English, a collective noun takes a singular verb when the group acts as one unit, and a plural verb when the members act as individuals.
One decision, one unit — singular.
Several people with different opinions — plural.
More examples of the same split:
The test is simple: if you can replace the collective noun with it and the sentence still sounds natural, use a singular verb. If they fits better, use a plural verb.
American English: almost always singular
American English treats collective nouns as singular in nearly all cases, regardless of whether the members act individually or as a unit.
Even when the members clearly act as separate individuals, American English keeps the singular:
If an American writer wants to emphasize individual action, they typically rephrase rather than switch to a plural verb:
This avoids the issue entirely.
The consistency rule
Once you choose singular or plural for a collective noun in a passage, every verb and pronoun referring to it must match. Mixing singular and plural in the same context sounds broken.
Both are fine. What is not fine:
The mismatch between are (plural) and it (singular) jars the reader. Pick one and stay with it.
Words that are always plural
Two common words look like collective nouns but always take a plural verb.
Police never takes a singular verb, even though it names one institution.
If you need a singular form, say a police officer or a policeman/policewoman.
People, when it means individuals, is always plural.
The only exception is the rare meaning a nation or ethnic group, where peoples can appear: the peoples of Southeast Asia. In everyday English, treat people as plural.
"A number of" vs. "the number of"
The article before number changes everything.
A number of means many or several. The real subject is the plural noun that follows, so the verb is plural.
The number of refers to the figure itself — a single quantity — so the verb is singular.
A quick test: replace the phrase. If many works, the verb is plural. If the total works, the verb is singular.
Majority, minority, rest, remainder
These words follow the same logic as all and some — the verb depends on what comes after of.
When the noun after of is plural (countable), the verb is plural:
When the noun after of is uncountable or singular, the verb is singular:
Without an of-phrase, majority and minority usually take a singular verb:
Common mistakes
Mixing singular and plural mid-sentence
Using a singular verb with "police"
Confusing "a number of" and "the number of"
Using a plural verb with a collective noun in American English
Wrong verb with "majority / rest" + uncountable noun