7.8.5 Collective Nouns.

A collective noun is one that names more than 1 person, place, or thing. When the group is regarded as a unit, the singular verb is the appropriate choice. (See also , Plurals, Collective Nouns.)The couple has a practice in rural Montana. [Couple is considered a unit here and so takes the singular verb.] Twenty percent of her time is spent on administration. [Twenty percent is thought of as a unit, not as 20 individual units, and so takes the singular verb.] (See also , Units of Measure, Format, Style, and Punctuation, Subject-Verb Agreement.) The paramedic crew responds to these ...Less