Rule #7: Collective nouns take a singular verb and pronoun when the group acts as one unit, and a plural verb and pronoun when members of the group act individually or are clearly divided.

❌ The orchestra perform well.

✅ The orchestra performs well.

Acting as One Unit vs. Acting Individually

I don’t want you to remember the term “collective noun.” It’s not important for your IBA exam. IBA is not going to give you a word and then ask you what type of noun it is. So don’t worry.

However, I want you to truly grasp the idea of what it means to work as a group (as one unit) and what it means to act alone, separately, or individually. 

Remember I told you before that everything in grammar can be explained in 2 ways: 1) with meaning and 2) with convention. 

If you understand the meaning of the sentence given to you in the IBA DU or BUP exam, you will be better able to identify the correct answer. 

I want you to think about the following two sentences in the table.

What does Sentence #1 mean?

Let’s say there are 5 members in the committee. And all the 5 members have discussed among themselves and made a decision together. They all acted collectively or together as a group.

However, in the second sentence, the members of the committee are not submitting the same report. Each member of the committee is submitting his or her own report, which is different from those of the other members.

Thus, in the 2nd sentence, the committee is not acting as a single unit; instead, the members of the committee are acting individually.

So when you get a question like this in your IBA exam, take a step back and ask yourself:

If the members of the group are acting together → Use singular verb and pronoun

If the members of the group are acting separately → Use plural verb and pronoun

That’s why in the 1st sentence, we have used a singular main verb (has) and a singular pronoun (its).

And in the 2nd sentence, we have used a plural main verb (have) and a plural pronoun (their).

Rule of Thumb for Your IBA Exam

Assume a collective noun will take a singular verb and pronoun unless there is a clear sign that the members are doing separate things.

Also, the best way to avoid this trap is to constantly look for a keyword in a sentence that signals that the members of a group are acting separately.

For instance, in the 2nd sentence, the keyword is “separate.” The sentence clearly tells us that the members of the committee are submitting their “separate reports.”

Following is a list of some of the most commonly used collective nouns:

🧨Trap #7: You may see plural-looking nouns such as “team” or “jury” and immediately think they need a plural verb.

Trap #7.1: Pronoun Confusion

The pronoun has to match the singular collective noun.

Trap #7.2: Descriptive Phrases (Extra Words) Confuse You

🧰 Again, use your toolbox. One of the tools you have in your toolbox is crossing off extra words.

We learned this in Adaanist Grammar Rule #1.

“consisting of old musicians” → extra words - only here to distract you from the real subject which is “the group.”

Here are the steps I follow to solve this type of grammar question:

1. Identify if the subject is a collective noun.

2. Ask yourself: Are the people acting as one unit?

3. If yes → Use a singular verb.

4. Match the pronoun too (use it or its, not they or their).

💥 Examples

🔸 Example #1

✅ Correct: meets. The committee acts as a single unit.

🔸 Example #2

✅ Correct: agrees. Treat the family as a unit acting together.

Here, I want you to pay attention. Earlier in this lesson, I told you to look for keywords in a sentence that signals that the group is acting separately.

In this example, the keyword is “different” - “different opinions”.

But we still didn’t choose a plural verb. Why?

Because again remember what I taught you. Always think about the meaning of the sentence.

This sentence is saying that even though the family members have different opinions, they still agree (as a unit) on one thing - to attend the reunion together.

So they are attending the reunion as a single unit. That’s why we chose the singular verb “agrees.”

In this example, “despite their different opinions” → extra words.

Use one of the tools from your tool box → cross off these extra words.

🔸 Example #3

✅ Correct: are. Here, staff is treated as individuals with different opinions.

Keyword: “divided”