Is year a collective noun

Answer 1

The noun 'year' can be used as a collective noun, for example a year of unexpected events, a year of disasters, etc.

A noun used as a collective noun is not an inherent quality of the noun, a collective noun is determined by the use of the noun. We use the noun 'bunch' as a collective noun, a bunch of grapes, a bunch of bananas; but "He stuffed his jacket in a bunch into his locker." is not using 'bunch' as a collective noun, it is simply the object of the preposition 'in'; or the example of a table of contents, and "Put the books on the table.", one use of the noun 'table' is a collective noun and one is not.

It is true that some nouns lend themselves to use as a collective noun and some are so commonly used as to be the accepted as the standard as a collective noun. Simply, a collective noun is a noun used to group two or more people or things in a descriptive way.