“See those tracks? A herd of deer came through here.”

English Lesson: See those tracks? A herd of deer came through here.

You're hiking in the woods with a friend. You notice animal prints in the wet mud next to a creek. You point them out to your friend.

See those tracks? A herd of deer came through here.

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a herd of (animals)

The word "herd" describes a group of animals that live together. Specifically, you can use "herd" to talk about:

  • cows
  • deer
  • elephants
  • goats
  • whales

There are other groups of animals that we don't use "herd" for:

  • a pack of wolves
  • a school of fish
  • a flock of birds

deer

The plural of "deer" is "deer", so you can say:

I saw a deer!

Or

I saw a bunch of deer!

See (something)?

Say this when you want to give some information about something you see. (It’s not really necessary to use perfect grammar and include “Do you…?”). Often, if possible, people point to something when they say this. 

See those girls over there? I bet they're Brazilian.

See that tree there? I used to climb it all the time when I was a kid.

(animals) came through (somewhere)

You can use this phrase to talk about an animal's movements:

I think a bear came through our camp while we were sleeping.

A common joke to make when someone's house or room is really messy is this:

It looks like a pack of wolves came through here!

You can also say “passed through” which has a similar meaning.