which one of the following sentences contains a collective noun?

A. the quality of mercy is not strained.
B. wo among you is a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker?
C. Listen, my children, and you shall hear.
D. the legislature met in secret session.

is it (B)?

D

"you" is a pronoun, not a noun.

"legislature" is a group of people, like a pod of whales, or a pride of lions. Maybe not a perfect analogy, since we don't speak of "a legislature of politicians", but (C) is out, because "children" is just a plural noun.

D is the answer, collective noun is a special class, name groups [things] composed of members [usually people]. Examples: army

audience,board,cabinet,class,committee,
company,corporation etc...

Yes, you are correct! Sentence (B) "Who among you is a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker?" contains a collective noun. The collective noun in this sentence is "baker," which refers to a group of people who work in that profession.

Yes, you are correct. Sentence B contains a collective noun. The collective noun in this sentence is "butcher, baker, or candlestick maker." It represents a group of professions or individuals.