COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Collective nouns are words for groups of people or things. The typical collective noun is a body made up of individual people:
the air force , the army , an audience , a band
Although these collective nouns are singular , they often used with a plural verb , especially when you are thinking of the group as several individual people. When you think of the group more as a unit than as several people, you usually use a singular verb . For example , you can say :
* My family comes from Hong Kong.
* My family were pleased to see me again .
* The staff consists of a manager and four sales assistants .
* The staff are pleased with their pay rise .
* Our team has a good chance of victory.
* Our team have been practicing hard .
* The public rarely gets a say .
* The public are admitted on weekdays .
* The committee is too large .
* The committee are considering further action.
In American English collective nouns usually have a singular verb:
* The orchestra was tuning up .
If you use a singular verb, you usually refer to the body as it ; if you use a plural verb , you refer to the body as they: