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Grammar

What Are Collective Nouns? 40+ Collective Noun Examples

Collective nouns represent a group of individuals or things that function as one. Collective nouns can name assemblages of people, plants, animals, things or ideas.

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Introduction

Our text compare tool is a fantastic, lightweight tool that provides plagiarism checks between two documents. Whether you are a student, blogger or publisher, this tool offers a great solution to detect and compare similarities between any two pieces of text. In this article, I will discuss the different ways to use the tool, the primary features of the tool and who this tool is for. There is an FAQ at the bottom if you run into any issues when trying to use the tool.

What makes Originality.ai’s text comparison tool stand out?

Keyword density helper – This tool comes with a built-in keyword density helper in some ways similar to the likes of SurferSEO or MarketMuse the difference being, ours is free! This feature shows the user the frequency of single or two word keywords in a document, meaning you can easily compare an article you have written against a competitor to see the major differences in keyword densities. This is especially useful for SEO’s who are looking to optimize their blog content for search engines and improve the blog’s visibility.

Ways to compare

File compare – Text comparison between files is a breeze with our tool. Simply select the files you would like to compare, hit “Upload” and our tool will automatically insert the content into the text area, then simply hit “Compare” and let our tool show you where the differences in the text are. By uploading a file, you can still check the keyword density in your content.

URL compare

Comparing text between URLs is effortless with our tool. Simply paste the URL you would like to get the content from (in our example we use a fantastic blog post by Sherice Jacob found here) hit “Submit URL” and our tool will automatically retrieve the contents of the page and paste it into the text area, then simply click “Compare” and let our tool highlight the difference between the URLs. This feature is especially useful for checking keyword density between pages!

Simple text compare

You can also easily compare text by copying and pasting it into each field, as demonstrated below.

Features of Originality.ai’s Text Compare Tool

Ease of use

Our text compare tool is created with the user in mind, it is designed to be accessible to everyone. Our tool allows users to upload files or enter a URL to extract text, this along with the lightweight design ensures a seamless experience. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy for users to compare text and detect the diff.

Multiple text file format support

Our tool provides support for a variety of different text files and microsoft word formats including pdf file, .docx, .odt, .doc, and .txt, giving users the ability to compare text from different sources with ease. This makes it a great solution for students, bloggers, and publishers who are looking for file comparison in different formats.

Protects intellectual property

Our text comparison tool helps you protect your intellectual property and helps prevent plagiarism. This tool provides an accurate comparison of texts, making it easy to ensure that your work is original and not copied from other sources. Our tool is a valuable resource for anyone looking to maintain the originality of their content.

User Data Privacy

Our text compare tool is secure and protects user data privacy. No data is ever saved to the tool, the users’ text is only scanned and pasted into the tool’s text area. This makes certain that users can use our tool with confidence, knowing their data is safe and secure.

Compatibility

Our text comparison tool is designed to work seamlessly across all size devices, ensuring maximum compatibility no matter your screen size. Whether you are using a large desktop monitor, a small laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, this tool adjusts to your screen size. This means that users can compare texts and detect the diff anywhere without the need for specialized hardware or software. This level of accessibility makes it an ideal solution for students or bloggers who value the originality of their work and need to compare text online anywhere at any time.

Collective nouns name a group of persons, places, ideas, or things that perform as a unit or act as one. As referenced in their name, collective nouns refer to a collection of individual entities grouped together. They may be used in the singular or plural. 

Learn about collective nouns with examples in this comprehensive guide. Then, make content review a breeze with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker.

What Is the Purpose of a Collective Noun?

Collective nouns are essential when naming an assemblage of things in writing and speaking. 

Naming specific groups of animals

Naming groups of animals is a very specialized purpose of a collective noun, though perhaps not frequently used in everyday modern life. However, there are many other everyday uses of collective nouns all around us.

Examples:

  • We waited until night to watch for the colony of bats. 
  • Her dog had a litter of puppies last night!
  • When the larvae hatched, a flutter of butterflies appeared. 
  • A herd of wild horses ran across the plain.
  • She saw a pod of whales from the cruise ship.

Specific assemblies of people

Many collective nouns are used to name gatherings or groupings of people. The collective noun often denotes not only the involvement of multiple people but can also reveal a bit about what the people are doing:

Examples:

  • The jury is still in deliberations.
  • Our town council canceled the annual parade.
  • The faculty is negotiating a new contract. 
  • His team was winning 5-0 when I left.
  • Her family left for vacation today. 

In these examples, the collective nouns name people gathered for different aspects of life: the courtroom, town hall, school, sports field, and home.  A lot of information is shared through one simple word. 

General assemblies of people

Collective nouns can also be more generic, simply denoting the presence of two or more people.

Examples:

  • A group gathered at the gates to wait for the parade to begin.
  • A gathering formed in the street to celebrate the win.
  • The crowd went wild!
  • The party got up from the table after they finished their meal at the restaurant.

In these sentences, the context of the sentence reveals what action is happening. The collective nouns themselves are very basic. 

A collection of things

Some collective nouns name a group of things in the physical and natural world. 

Examples:

  • Read the first book in the series; you’ll love it.
  • Their caravan is on the road to California!
  • The forest is dense with trees. 
  • Your shrubbery is getting very overgrown.
  • Dig out a clump of your daylilies for me, please.
  • Which mountain range is the largest?

These collective nouns represent units of multiple things and simplify writing.

A specific or general amount of things

Collective nouns can also stand for a quantity or amount. It is more common for them to refer to a general amount.

Examples:

  • I asked for a dozen donuts.
  • The shopkeeper bought a gross of eggs.
  • Can you please bring me that deck of cards?
  • She brought me a pretty bunch of flowers. 
  • A cloud of dust filled the room.
  • May I have a slice of cake?
  • Please put on a pot of tea.
  • I received a wealth of information from my professor.

Very few collective nouns denote a specific number: dozen (12) and gross (144), for example. Other collective nouns just give a general idea of the unit a group of items form. 

Uncountable collective nouns

Some collective nouns are also uncountable nouns. They refer to a group of things that can’t be counted.

Examples:

  • They watch way too much news.
  • Did you finish your homework?
  • How much clothing does one person need?
  • The doctor conducted her patient rounds before leaving the hospital.

Plural Collective Nouns

Most collective nouns (all the countable ones, anyway) transition to the plural form easily because if there can be one group of things, there can be two groups of things. It is usually as simple as adding s or es to the singular form of the collective noun. 

Examples:

  • The teams gathered for the competition.
  • No committees will meet on the holiday.
  • Several families volunteered at the event.
  • The forests in our county are beautiful.

Subject-Verb Agreement and Collective Nouns

Choosing whether to use a singular verb or a plural verb can be tricky for writers. The rules are simple:

  • Always use a singular collective noun with a singular verb.
  • Only a plural collective noun is paired with a plural verb

When modifiers separate the noun and verb, focus on identifying the collective noun, determine if it is singular or plural, and then match the verb form to it.

Examples:

  • That group of students is going last.
  • Those other groups of students are going first. 

Pronoun Agreement with Collective Nouns

Just as a verb must agree with a collective noun, any pronoun that refers to the collective noun must agree in number with the noun. To ensure correct pronoun usage, isolate the collective noun first and then match it with the correct pronoun. 

Examples:

  • A good committee knows its charge. 
  • All committees must know their charge. 
  • The team left its gear at the camp.
  • The company presented its products at the launch.
  • Both companies had launch parties for their products.

Final Thoughts: Collective Nouns Make Writing Cleaner

By using one word to describe a whole group of things in a single unit, collective nouns make writing more specific and less wordy. Using the correct verb form with a collective noun is crucial for correct grammar and positive reflection on your writing and brand. 

Streamline your editorial process with a suite of best-in-class Originality.ai tools including a Grammar Checker, AI Checker, Plagiarism Checker, and Content Optimizer.

Then, learn more grammar best practices in our resources:

Melissa Fanella

Melissa Fanella is a writer, editor, and marketing professional with over 15 years of experience in content and messaging for businesses and nonprofits. Her expertise is in crafting authentic, people-first content that is compelling and engaging for audiences and positioned for business goals.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to check for plagiarism?

Tools for conducting a plagiarism check between two documents online are important as it helps to ensure the originality and authenticity of written work. Plagiarism undermines the value of professional and educational institutions, as well as the integrity of the authors who write articles. By checking for plagiarism, you can ensure the work that you produce is original or properly attributed to the original author. This helps prevent the distribution of copied and misrepresented information.

What is Text Comparison?

Text comparison is the process of taking two or more pieces of text and comparing them to see if there are any similarities, differences and/or plagiarism. The objective of a text comparison is to see if one of the texts has been copied or paraphrased from another text. This text compare tool for plagiarism check between two documents has been built to help you streamline that process by finding the discrepancies with ease.

How do Text Comparison Tools Work?

Text comparison tools work by analyzing and comparing the contents of two or more text documents to find similarities and differences between them. This is typically done by breaking the texts down into smaller units such as sentences or phrases, and then calculating a similarity score based on the number of identical or nearly identical units. The comparison may be based on the exact wording of the text, or it may take into account synonyms and other variations in language. The results of the comparison are usually presented in the form of a report or visual representation, highlighting the similarities and differences between the texts.

String comparison is a fundamental operation in text comparison tools that involves comparing two sequences of characters to determine if they are identical or not. This comparison can be done at the character level or at a higher level, such as the word or sentence level.

The most basic form of string comparison is the equality test, where the two strings are compared character by character and a Boolean result indicating whether they are equal or not is returned. More sophisticated string comparison algorithms use heuristics and statistical models to determine the similarity between two strings, even if they are not exactly the same. These algorithms often use techniques such as edit distance, which measures the minimum number of operations (such as insertions, deletions, and substitutions) required to transform one string into another.

Another common technique for string comparison is n-gram analysis, where the strings are divided into overlapping sequences of characters (n-grams) and the frequency of each n-gram is compared between the two strings. This allows for a more nuanced comparison that takes into account partial similarities, rather than just exact matches.

String comparison is a crucial component of text comparison tools, as it forms the basis for determining the similarities and differences between texts. The results of the string comparison can then be used to generate a report or visual representation of the similarities and differences between the texts.

What is Syntax Highlighting?

Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that helps to visually distinguish different elements of a code or markup language. It does this by coloring different elements of the code, such as keywords, variables, functions, and operators, based on a predefined set of rules.

The purpose of syntax highlighting is to make the code easier to read and understand, by drawing attention to the different elements and their structure. For example, keywords may be colored in a different hue to emphasize their importance, while comments or strings may be colored differently to distinguish them from the code itself. This helps to make the code more readable, reducing the cognitive load of the reader and making it easier to identify potential syntax errors.

How Can I Conduct a Plagiarism Check between Two Documents Online?

With our tool it’s easy, just enter or upload some text, click on the button “Compare text” and the tool will automatically display the diff between the two texts.

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Using text comparison tools is much easier, more efficient, and more reliable than proofreading a piece of text by hand. Eliminate the risk of human error by using a tool to detect and display the text difference within seconds.

What Files Can You Inspect with This Text Compare Tool?

We have support for the file extensions .pdf, .docx, .odt, .doc and .txt. You can also enter your text or copy and paste text to compare.

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There is never any data saved by the tool, when you hit “Upload” we are just scanning the text and pasting it into our text area so with our text compare tool, no data ever enters our servers.

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