In my current translation project I have a few lines where I would use a singular noun to refer to a group of people. For example,
But be careful around the Fair Folk. They can be fickle, and you do not want to cross them.
The Fair Folk rarely reveal themselves to travelers, and are seen only when they wish to be seen, save perhaps at Midsummer's Eve.
I am translating "the Fair Folk" (fairies) as "das holde Volk," so it is a singular noun.
I have read this post (https://german.stackexchange.com/a/411/30970) explaining that singular verbs should be used for nouns which refer to groups of people, e.g. "die Familie ist..." However I am not sure if this applies to pronouns referring to the same noun in a subsequent sentence. Can the "they" in the first line above be just "sie," with a 3rd person plural verb, or should it be "es" with a verb in the 3rd person singular to fit with the subject of the previous sentence?