I know that very few people really want to spend their off hours reading about the finer points of English grammar, and those who do in all likelihood really have no life. Nonetheless, I have put together some fun pages about things I find interesting, those being homophones and collective nouns. I even wrote a book about homophones [no, I have no life either] about which you can read more here.
Collective Nouns for Birds
What is a collective noun?
A collective noun is a word that describes a group of objects, such as fish. While many collective nouns are rather general, some very specifically refer to a particular type of group, such as a "piteousness" of doves. Here, "piteousness" is a collective noun used to refer specifically to a group of doves. These very exact terms are called terms of venery, and refer to animal groups specifically.
Some collective nouns refer to groups, while others are more to the point of describing an aspect of an animal's habits. For example, a herd may refer specifically to a group of animals such as buffalo, while an exaltation refers to a characteristic of a group of larks.
Read more...
My personal favorites:
A mob of emus
A confusion of guines fowl
A parliament of owls
Collective Nouns for Invertebrates
What is a collective noun?
A collective noun is a word that describes a group of objects, such as fish. While many collective nouns are rather general, some very specifically refer to a particular type of group, such as a "flutter" of butterflies. Here, "flutter" is a collective noun used to refer specifically to a group of butterflies. These very exact terms are called terms of venery, and refer to animal groups specifically.
Some collective nouns refer to groups, while others are more to the point of describing an aspect of an animal's habits. For example, a herd may refer specifically to a group of animals such as buffalo, while an exaltation refers to a characteristic of a group of larks. Read more...
My personal favorites:
An intrusion of cockroaches
A clutter of spiders
A smack of jellyfish
Collective Nouns For Reptiles and Amphibians
What is a collective noun?
A collective noun is a word that describes a group of objects, such as frogs. While many collective nouns are rather general, some very specifically refer to a particular type of group, such as a "slither" of snakes. Here, "slither" is a collective noun used to refer specifically to a group of snakes. These very exact terms are called terms of venery, and refer to animal groups specifically.
Some collective nouns refer to groups, while others are more to the point of describing an aspect of an animal's habits. For example, a herd may refer specifically to a group of animals such as buffalo, while an exaltation refers to a characteristic of a group of larks. Read more...
My personal favorites:
A knob of toads
A bevy of turtles
A lounge of lizards
Collective Nouns For Fish and Sea Mammals
What is a collective noun?
A collective noun is a word that describes a group of objects, such as fish. While many collective nouns are rather general, some very specifically refer to a particular type of group, such as a "shiver" of sharks. Here, "shiver" is a collective noun used to refer specifically to a group of sharks. These very exact terms are called terms of venery, and refer to animal groups specifically.
Some collective nouns refer to groups, while others are more to the point of describing an aspect of an animal's habits. For example, a herd may refer specifically to a group of animals such as buffalo, while an exaltation refers to a characteristic of a group of larks. Read more...
My personal favorites:
A shivering of sharks
A fry of eels
A fever of stingrays
Homophones Homographs Homonyms
No Worries for the Homophonically Confused
Homographs are words that are spelled alike, but are pronounced differently, and have different meanings. For example: The violinist put down her bow and took a bow. Here, bow is pronounced differently each time, and has different meanings, but is spelled the same.
Then we have Homophones. They sound alike, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. For example: The baby deer stuffed animal was very dear to the little girl. Here we have deer [with antlers] and dear [isn't that just precious] which sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Read more...
See also the Homophones Book Website
