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At the beginning of English learning, a simple sentence looks like this below:

There is a group of students singing and dancing....

However if it's changed to:

A group of students are singing and dancing...

Notice the verb agreement is changed from the singular form (is) to the plural form (are).

But is it also possible to say "There're a group of students...' (enhancements of "students" as the plural form) or 'A group of students is ....' (take the collective unit word (group) as a whole)?

What's more: There're TOO MANY collective English unit words such as "collection"/"pile"/"series"/"set"/"gang"/"crown"...So I wonder:

  1. Are both "plural form of verbs" and "singular form of verbs" grammartically right, depending on what you focus on?

  2. What's often used in practice for the native speakers?

Beginner
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  • Grammatical (or 'formal') agreement requires a singular verb: "A group of students is singing and dancing". But formal agreement is often overridden by 'notional' or 'proximity' agreement, resulting in "A group of students are ...". There are plenty of similar questions on this site where you can find more on this. Do a search on 'collective nouns agreement'. – Shoe Jun 18 '22 at 09:29
  • @Shoe: Yes, this is just why I want to ask you because as you see, "collective nouns agreement" doesn't include examples like mine much, it mainly focuses on some single collective words with the plural meaning, and what's more: A statement fitting the grammar doesn't always mean it's right in the native speakers because of 'notional' and 'proximity' agreements. So I just want to confirm this ;) – Beginner Jun 18 '22 at 09:42
  • It's not clear from your comment if you now have the answer you want. If not, it would be useful, for me at least, if you could restate your principal question. – Shoe Jun 18 '22 at 09:48
  • @Shoe: In fact what I want to ask is very simple: How to differ when meeting with a collective English words such as my examples above in 'notional' or 'proximity' or 'grammar'? Or in fact they are theorically right? – Beginner Jun 18 '22 at 10:58
  • Thanks for the clarification. In formal written contexts I would recommend formal agreement, So, for example, A pile of books was on the floor. Or England has won the test match. But this is a tricky aspect of English grammar, and some people will disagree with your choice of verb number whatever it is. – Shoe Jun 18 '22 at 11:11
  • Though 'British English' is a misnomer (too broad-brush and also not allowing for adherents outside the UK), logical agreement is, overall, more common in the UK than in the US and Australia. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 18 '22 at 12:02
  • @Shoe: Thank your VERY MUCH for your kind suggestions. I know I can fully follow what I am guided by grammars themselves, however the constructed statements by grammar rules seem very odd, compared with your native speakers'. To be very honest, I disagree with you on the saying of "being tricky and playing with languages", and on the opposite, this is the English most flexible point to make sentences lively in meanings depending on how you see them....don't you think so? ;) – Beginner Jun 18 '22 at 12:04
  • On the other hand, there're still some English statements that don't follow the rules of grammars, so it's also another reason for a non-native speaker to know deeply about how to use them. – Beginner Jun 18 '22 at 12:05
  • The issue of number, gender and person agreement of nouns, verbs, pronouns and determiners extends a long way beyond collective nouns. The presence of so many agreement questions on this site from those who appear to be native speakers of English attests to the fact that this is indeed a tricky issue. – Shoe Jun 18 '22 at 12:17
  • I suggest you consult a good usage guide such as Merriam Webster's English Usage Dictionary for advice when you have a specific agreement question. For example, it has over two pages of examples and advice about the subject-verb number agreement of collective nouns. – Shoe Jun 18 '22 at 12:18
  • (1) "A group of students is singing and dancing..." is favoured, even demanded, by some. Yes, I prefer notional agreement here, but it's not a fixed requirement. // (2) "There's" is increasingly seen as an informal contraction meaning both "There is" and "There are". "There're" is awkward. // (3) Usages are idiosyncratic. Look up "number transparent" at say Is _bags/heaps/loads/oodles/stacks of {uncountable noun} always treated as singular? – Edwin Ashworth Jun 18 '22 at 13:48
  • If they're singing and dancing in unison, then the group is singing and dancing. If they're not choreographed, use the plural. – John Lawler Jun 18 '22 at 16:30
  • Careful, differ and differentiate don't mean the same thing. – aparente001 Jun 18 '22 at 18:14

1 Answers1

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Here's how I would handle this in conversation (in the US):

Come see! There's a group [bunch] of teens singing and dancing at the park around the corner.

Here are some idiomatic alternatives:

  • There's a dance troupe performing at the park.

  • Some teenagers are singing and dancing in the park.

  • There's a flash mob at the park.

aparente001
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