Meaning & use
body of soldiers
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Meanings
phrasecountable
a group of soldiers gathered together for a particular purpose or as one unit.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a' or a number before it, and make it plural as 'bodies of soldiers'.
Patterns
- a body of soldiers
- a large body of soldiers
- a body of soldiers under someone
A body of soldiers marched along the road toward the bridge.
The general sent a small body of soldiers ahead to check the valley.
By dawn a large body of soldiers had gathered outside the town.
phrasesingularformal
the main part of an army, considered as one organized whole rather than as separate people.
Grammar: Often used with 'the' and a singular verb when it means the army as a whole.
Patterns
- the body of soldiers
- the whole body of soldiers
The body of soldiers moved as one, keeping perfect step.
Discipline held the body of soldiers together during the long retreat.
Word forms
| plural | bodies of soldiers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a body of soldiers
- A body of soldiers blocked the entrance to the city.
- a large body of soldiers
- A large body of soldiers was camped beyond the hills.
- send a body of soldiers
- They sent a body of soldiers to guard the border.
- a body of troops
- A body of troops advanced slowly through the fog.
- gather a body of soldiers
- The captain gathered a body of soldiers near the gate.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unit
- A unit is a fixed, official part of an army with its own name and number, while 'body of soldiers' just describes any group that is together.
- troop
- Troop often means soldiers in general or a small group, and it is more common in everyday and news writing than 'body of soldiers'.
- force
- A force is a group of soldiers organized for a job, and it is the usual word in military reports; 'body of soldiers' sounds older and more literary.
Word family
Commonly confused: body of soldiers or body of troops? body of soldiers or army?
body of soldiers vs body of troops
This means almost the same thing and is more common in military writing; 'troops' is the usual plural word for soldiers, while 'soldiers' is more everyday.
body of soldiers vs army
An army is a whole country's land fighting force, much bigger than a body of soldiers.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'body of soldiers' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A body of soldiers' is a singular countable phrase, so the verb is 'marched' and the plural noun 'soldiers' stays plural. Option 0 wrongly uses 'were march', option 2 makes 'soldier' singular, and option 3 puts a plural article form before the singular 'body'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “body of soldiers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.