22f Treat collective nouns as singular unless the meaning is clearly plural.

Collective nouns such as jury, committee, audience, crowd, troop, family, and couple name a class or a group. In American English, collective nouns are nearly always treated as singular, to emphasize the group as a unit.

Occasionally, to draw attention to the individual members of the group, a collective noun may be treated as plural: The class are debating among themselves. Many writers prefer to add a clearly plural noun such as members: The class members are debating among themselves.

NOTE: In general, when a fraction or unit of measurement is used with a singular noun, treat it as singular; when it is used with a plural noun, treat it as plural: Three-fourths of the pie has been eaten. One-fourth of the drivers were texting.