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Collective nouns: the singular trap

When you talk about a group of people or things, English often uses a plural verb. We say that the people are happy, the police are coming, or the vegetables are fresh. In Italian, many of these words are grammatically singular because they represent a single collective unit.

This means you must use singular verbs, articles, and adjectives with words like gente, polizia, and verdura. Trusting your English instincts here is a common trap that leads to agreement mistakes.

Word list
classefA1 class la classe è in gita = the class are on a trip famigliafA1 family la mia famiglia è numerosa = my family are a big bunch fruttafA1 fruit la frutta = fruit gentefA1 people la gente è = people are verdurafA1 vegetable la verdura = vegetables abbigliamentomA2 clothes l'abbigliamento = clothes governomA2 government il governo ha deciso = the government have decided poliziafA2 police la polizia è arrivata = the police have arrived squadrafA2 team la squadra ha vinto = the team have won uvafA2 grape l'uva = grapes follafB1 crowd la folla è impazzita = the crowd have gone wild personalemB1 staff il personale è disponibile = the staff are available pubblicomB1 audience il pubblico applaude = the audience are clapping staffmB1 staff lo staff è preparato = the staff are prepared avenafB2 oats l'avena è nutriente = oats are nutritious equipaggiomB2 crew l'equipaggio è a bordo = the crew are on board giuriafB2 jury la giuria è riunita = the jury are assembled pollamemB2 poultry il pollame è allevato qui = the poultry are raised here stampafB2 press la stampa è presente = the press are here bestiamemC1 cattle il bestiame è sano = the cattle are healthy bestiamemC1 livestock il bestiame viene nutrito = the livestock are fed
People and authorities

The most common traps for beginners are gente for people and polizia for police. While they refer to multiple individuals in the real world, the words themselves are singular feminine nouns.

La gente è molto stanca.
(The people are very tired.)
La polizia sta cercando il ladro.
(The police are looking for the thief.)
Staff, cattle, and poultry

The same rule applies to groups of workers and animals. If you refer to the staff of a company, you will use personale or staff with a singular verb. Likewise, farm animals like cattle and poultry translate to the singular nouns bestiame and pollame.

Il personale è pronto per iniziare.
(The staff are ready to start.)
Il bestiame mangia nel campo.
(The cattle are eating in the field.)
Il pollame viene allevato all'aperto.
(The poultry are raised outdoors.)
Food and clothing

Italian also uses singular collective nouns for certain everyday items where English uses plural countable nouns. If you want to talk about vegetables, grapes, or clothes in general, you use the singular forms verdura, uva, and abbigliamento.

La verdura fresca è salutare.
(Fresh vegetables are healthy.)
L'uva rossa costa di più.
(Red grapes cost more.)
L'abbigliamento invernale occupa molto spazio.
(Winter clothes take up a lot of space.)

You will also see frutta used as a singular collective for fruit. While English also uses the singular for fruit in a general sense, learners often mistakenly try to pluralize it in Italian.

La frutta di stagione è deliziosa.
(Seasonal fruit is delicious.)
Summary

When dealing with collective nouns, always look at the Italian word itself rather than translating the English concept. If the noun is grammatically singular, your verbs and adjectives must match it exactly.