How can we distinguish if we must use singular/plural with collective nouns like family, audience, committee, etc. ?

eli whitney was an american inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin. this was one of the key inventions of the industrial revolution and shaped the economy of the antebellum south.

b. cronkite, a trusted television personality, declared that the war was unwinnable and told the american people that the government had better find a way out

even though it went against everything the news anchors typically stood for, cronkite voiced an opinion and took a stance, telling the us that there was no way they were going to win, the war was going to end in a stalemate. 

1) correct answer: general clinton hoped that general burgoyne could him.

2. correct answer: “when they heard box 342 rung, however, they assumed the fire was out of their territory and unhitched the horses. only two fire companies were not fooled by the misleading alarm.”

3.) correct answer: generals were able to send secret messages to each other using a mask.

as much cookies cookie monster could muster if a cookie monster could master cooking cookies