Editing Grammatical number (section)

===Collective nouns===
{{Main |Collective noun}}
A collective noun is a word that designates a group of objects or beings regarded as a whole, such as "flock", "team", or "corporation". Although many languages treat collective nouns as singular, in others they may be interpreted as plural. In [[British English]], phrases such as ''the committee are meeting'' are common (the so-called agreement ''in sensu'' "in meaning"; with the meaning of a noun, rather than with its form, see [[synesis|constructio ad sensum]]). The use of this type of construction varies with dialect and level of formality.

In some cases, the number marking on a verb with a collective subject may express the degree of collectivity of action:
* ''The committee are discussing the matter'' (the individual members are discussing the matter), but ''the committee has decided on the matter'' (the committee has acted as an indivisible body).
* ''The crowd is tearing down the fences'' (a crowd is doing something as a unit), but ''the crowd are cheering wildly'' (many individual members of the crowd are doing the same thing independently of each other).