Which sentence uses the correct verb form for the collective noun 'faculty'?

Which sentence uses the correct verb form for the collective noun 'faculty'?

• A. The college faculty emphasizes writing instruction.
• B. The college faculty emphasize writing instruction.
• C. The college faculties emphasizes writing instruction.
• D. The college faculties emphasize writing instruction.

Answer: (A)

When you talk about a group as a single unit, the verb should match that unit with a singular form. The word faculty here is treated as one group—the college’s entire body of instructors—so the verb takes an -s ending: emphasizes. That pairing keeps the subject and verb in agreement and presents the action as something the whole faculty does as a unit. If you used faculties, that would signal multiple groups, which would pair with a plural verb (emphasize), changing the meaning to treating different faculties separately. So the sentence with the singular noun and the singular verb is the correct choice for referring to the faculty as one collective body.

When you talk about a group as a single unit, the verb should match that unit with a singular form. The word faculty here is treated as one group—the college’s entire body of instructors—so the verb takes an -s ending: emphasizes. That pairing keeps the subject and verb in agreement and presents the action as something the whole faculty does as a unit.

If you used faculties, that would signal multiple groups, which would pair with a plural verb (emphasize), changing the meaning to treating different faculties separately. So the sentence with the singular noun and the singular verb is the correct choice for referring to the faculty as one collective body.