Collective nouns

[Orwellian Doublespeak]

Test No. incompl/inter-13 "At the Theatre", question 7

The ......... were so carried away with the acting that at the end of the play they all stood up and applauded.

(a) spectators
(b) watchers
(c) listeners
(d) audience

Test No. incompl/inter-13 "At the Theatre", answer 7

The audience were so carried away with the acting that at the end of the play they all stood up and applauded.

Correct answer: (d) audience

Your answer was: incorrect
The spectators were so carried away with the acting that at the end of the play they all stood up and applauded.
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The verb form "were" indicates a plural. Is "the audience" plural? Very astonishing.

[Alan]

Not really astonishing in fact quite normal because the audience as a noun is regarded not so much as a single entity but as a group of people. Look at this: The Government ARE planning to introduce new taxes.
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Torsten]

Hi Doublespeak,

For information on collective nouns you can take a look here:
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic1523.html

PS: Sometimes it's astonishing to see how people tend to ignore facts that are obvious, don't you think? :)

TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between two students (1)