LEARN ENGLISH Groups What would you call a group of English language learners? And who decides? Like the English language itself, the use of collective nouns is constantly evolving, some like a 'pride of lions' are common but have you heard of these others? A parliament of owls Most people would associate the word 'parliament' with the government as the official location of debate and law making, but, the word parliament is also used to describe a group of owls. There is a parliament of owls sitting in and around the old oak tree in the park. The verb we use with a collective noun depends on whether the word is referring to the group as a unit or its members individually. A collective noun that refers to a group as a unit is usually treated as singular. The parliament of owls is sitting in the old oak tree by the shed. The herd of sheep is grazing by the river. When we refer to the group as individuals we may use the plural verb. The herd are scattered all over the paddock. Whichever form we use, we need to ensure consistency and make sure that the pronouns that follow match the appropriate verbs. Here are some more examples: A smack of jellyfish The ocean is home to a variety of animals and many of them stick together for protection and company. ‘A smack of jellyfish’ is not an uncommon sight, neither is ‘a school of fish’. Quick, let’s throw our fishing line in over there, I just spotted a school of fish. Of the bigger variety in the sea, one might be lucky enough to see ‘a pod of whales’ or hear ‘a herd of walruses’. And closer to the sea bed we can see ‘a bed of clams’ or ‘a hive of oysters’. A 'fever' is not normally associated with animals from the sea, but, it is possible to see ‘a fever of stingrays’ swim past from time to time. The origin of collective nouns in English is organic and new collective nouns pop up all the time, the first collective nouns were all arranged around animals but these days there is a lot of creativity with the use of collective nouns. Take for example the collective noun for disc jockeys, also known as DJs; and librarians: There is a groove of DJs sitting at the bar. There was a stack of librarians in the building, but I believe their conference has commenced. An army of caterpillars If you are ever in your garden and you are witness to ‘an army of caterpillars’, you probably should worry, as there may be an effort on the part of the caterpillars to destroy your garden! Another threat to your garden is a hare and if you have ‘a warren of hares’ in your garden, then you are in real trouble. I will buy a special spray at the shop as I have just noticed an army of caterpillars has invaded my garden. Inside your house you would much prefer to see ‘a group of guinea pigs’ than ‘a horde of rats’ and if you ever had the misfortune of a rat in the house, then you would certainly welcome ‘a clowder of cats’. Likewise, if you had ‘a colony of ants’ you would be quite happy to see ‘a prickle of hedgehogs’ as hedgehogs are renowned as efficient consumers of ants. Look at the amazing nest, it looks like a colony of ants has moved in. A pride of lions The plains of Africa are witness to a range of interesting animals and you might see ‘a zeal of zebras’ or ‘an ambush of tigers’. ‘Herds of antelopes’ are common as are ‘herds of elephants’ and you better hope there is not ‘a pride of lions’ close by. My dream is to go to Africa and see a pride of lions. In the forests you might have the pleasure of seeing ‘a shrewdness of apes’ or ‘a tribe of monkeys’ and if you are on the rivers you might see ‘a bloat of hippopotamuses’ or even ‘a float of crocodiles’. An impressive yet shy member on the African plains is the leopard and it may be very difficult to ever see ‘a leap of leopards’. ‘A wake of buzzards’ might be a little more common and easy to see though as they take to the skies to look for food. ‘Look, there’s a wake of buzzards, they must have found a food source. A knot of snakes In the Australian countryside you might be mesmerized by ‘a mob of kangaroos’ or scared by ‘a knot of snakes’. ‘A mischief of mice’ is not uncommon during droughts as is ‘a swarm of grasshoppers’. ‘A mob of emus’ is always a truly unique thing to see, and you would be very lucky to see 'a skulk of foxes’. During the spring time you need to be careful as you walk through parks as the magpies are nesting at that time and if you happen to come across ‘a murder of magpies’ you need to seriously take cover. Wombats have always been a symbol of Australia and are awarded a truly complementary classification, ‘a wisdom of wombats’. On the more annoying side, ‘a scourge of mosquitoes’ is always unwanted as is ‘a quiver of cobras’, you would much rather see ‘a pandemonium of parrots’ or ‘a pod of pelicans’. A harem of seals Seals are one animal that you can often hear before you see and if you happen across ‘a harem of seals’ then you will no doubt hear a cacophony of noise and not all of it pleasant to hear. I wish the harem of seals would keep the noise down. Just as noisy would be a 'gang of turkeys' or a 'muster of peacocks whilst a 'drift of pigs’ might be something you see, hear and small. s’. . LEARN ENGLISH Groups What would you call a group of English language learners? And who decides? Like the English