Chapter 1 Subject Verb Agreement

Chapter 1: Subject Verb Agreement
1. Tricky Subjects
a) News, Mathematics, Economics, Physics  Singular Subject
-Mathematics is my favorite part.
-Bad news needs to be conveyed carefully.
b) Trousers, Scissors, Glasses  Plural Subject
-My sunglasses are in the car.
-Your trousers are in the wardrobe.
c) A pair of jeans  Singular Subject
-A pair of jeans costs more than RM50.
2. Collective Nouns as a Single Unit
a) Team, Staff, Committee, Family, Jury  Singular Subject
-The staff organizes a charity dinner.
-Johan’s family is going on holiday next week.
-The jury was not convinced.
3. Collective Nouns as ‘individual members in the group’  Plural Subject
-The couple are taking separate cars to work today.
-The family are each doing a different chore.
-The committee members lead very different lives in private.
4. Uncountable Nouns
a) Sugar, Milk, Hair, Energy  Singular Subject
-Water is important for survival.
-Heat allows us to cook.

5. Indefinite Pronouns
a) Everybody, Everyone, Something, Somebody, Someone, Anything, Anybody, Anyone, Nothing, Nobody,
No one  Singular Subject
-Everyone is different
-Nobody knows where the boy is.
b) Every, Each (of), One (of)
-Every girl has to bring a flower.
-Each boy has to submit a picture.
-Each boy and girl has to wear a tie.
-Each of the boys plants a tree.
6. Measurables
a) Height, Weight, Time, Money, Distance, The Number of  Singular Subject
-Five hours is a long time to wait.
-Three hundred kilograms is the average weight of an adult male tiger.
-The number of deceased soldiers is not stored in the record book.
7. Special Words
a) There, Here, None  Singular or Plural depends on 后面的 subject
-There is one student in the class.
-There are five students in the class.
-None of the fans are fighting.
-None of the boat was seen in island.

b) Either, Neither  Singular Subject
-Either design is acceptable.
-Neither of the answers is correct.
c) Either…or, Neither…nor  Singular or Plural depends on 最靠近的 subject
-Either the dogs or the cat sleeps in the room.
-Neither the cat nor the dogs sleep in the room.
d) Together with, As well as, Along with  Singular or Plural depends on 前面的 subject
-Sam, together with his children, is in the room.
-The brothers as well as their sister are good at their studies.
-The dogs, along with their owner, run in the park.
e) All…but, Both…and  Plural Subject
-All but Jane have completed the essay.
-Both the girl and her mother love art.
8. Titles of books, movies, plays  Singular Subject
-‘The Avengers’ is an interesting movie.
-‘The Three Musketeers’ is written by Alexander Dumas.
9. More than one subject joined by ‘and’  Plural Subject
-John and Sally walk to school together.
-The dog and the cat are always fighting.
10. Two subjects joined by ‘and’ express a single idea  Singular Subject
-Fish and chips is my favorite food.
-The horse and carriage is no longer a main form of transport.

Exercise: Subject Verb Agreement
1. My mother always (has / have) some spare change in her purse.
2. Neither James nor Grace (was / were) informed of the change of the new schedule yesterday.
3. Students (has / have) been warned repeatedly not to enter the construction area.
4. Global warming (has / have) caused a lot of damage to the environment.
5. Many misunderstandings among people nowadays (is / are) due to lack of clear communication.
6. During my teenage years I (can / could) run much faster.
7. Ken has the ability to differentiate who (is / are) lying or telling the truth between the two brothers.
8. Each of the guests (was / were) given a present at the party last Saturday.
9. The police (has / have) caught the robbers near the bank.
10. Either William or his classmates (is / are) asked to decorate the hall.
11. My sister, together with her friends, (is / are) going to a concert tonight.
12. The pants my mother bought for me (is / are) in my bedroom.
13. Neither my nephew nor my niece (go / goes) jogging every morning.
14. Samuel, as well as his colleagues, (is / are) planning a trip to South America.
15. One of the workers (wants / want) to request for leave for his son’s marriage.
16. Every student (has / have) to actively participate in sports.
17. Neither the teacher nor the students (stays / stay) back after school every day.
18. Physics (was / were) my uncle’s favorite subject when he was young.
19. All but their aunt (is / are) going to the night market.
20. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.
21. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.
22. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.
23. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.
24. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.
25. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.
26. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.

27. The man together with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.
28. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.
29. The players, as well as the captain (want, wants) to win.
30. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.
31. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.
32. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.
33. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?
34. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite subject.
35. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.
36. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?
37. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.
38. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left!
39. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.
40. The committee members (leads, lead) very different lives in private.
41. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press cordially.
42. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.
43. His pants (was, were) torn during the match.
44. Aron, together with his wife (greet, greets) the guests of the party.
45. Tweezers (is, are) always useful to handle small objects.
46. The jury (was, were) not convinced.
47. To cry (is, are) never the solution to any problems.
48. A number of soldiers (was, were) injured during the war.
49. The number of deceased soldiers (is, are) not stored in the record book.
50. A pack of lions (was, were) approaching the camp.
51. Killing (was, were) not always considered a bad thing.
52. There (was, were) many difficulties regarding the situation.
53. Here (lie, lies) the tomb of Albert Einstein.

54. Either she or her friends (is, are) responsible for this accident.
55. Neither me nor my parents (was, were) aware of the incident.
56. None (is, are) none under the sun.
57. None of them (was, were) able to solve this question.
58. Eight fifty dollars (is, are) what it would cost to buy the new pixel phone.
59. A pair of trousers (is, are) all that I brought along
60. Everything (work, works) fine when it’s done correctly.

Chapter 1 Subject Verb Agreement

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Chapter 1 Subject Verb Agreement

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Chapter 1: Subject Verb Agreement

a) News, Mathematics, Economics, Physics  Singular Subject

-Mathematics is my favorite part.

-Bad news needs to be conveyed carefully.

b) Trousers, Scissors, Glasses  Plural Subject

-My sunglasses are in the car.

-Your trousers are in the wardrobe.

c) A pair of jeans  Singular Subject

-A pair of jeans costs more than RM50.

2. Collective Nouns as a Single Unit

a) Team, Staff, Committee, Family, Jury  Singular Subject

-The staff organizes a charity dinner.

-Johan’s family is going on holiday next week.

-The jury was not convinced.

3. Collective Nouns as ‘individual members in the group’  Plural Subject

-The couple are taking separate cars to work today.

-The family are each doing a different chore.

-The committee members lead very different lives in private.

a) Sugar, Milk, Hair, Energy  Singular Subject

-Water is important for survival.

-Heat allows us to cook.

-Nobody knows where the boy is.

b) Every, Each (of), One (of)

-Every girl has to bring a flower.

-Each boy has to submit a picture.

-Each boy and girl has to wear a tie.

-Each of the boys plants a tree.

a) Height, Weight, Time, Money, Distance, The Number of  Singular Subject

-Five hours is a long time to wait.

-Three hundred kilograms is the average weight of an adult male tiger.

-The number of deceased soldiers is not stored in the record book.

a) There, Here, None  Singular or Plural depends on 后面的 subject

-There is one student in the class.

-There are five students in the class.

-None of the fans are fighting.

-None of the boat was seen in island.

-Either design is acceptable.

-Neither of the answers is correct.

c) Either…or, Neither…nor  Singular or Plural depends on 最靠近的 subject

-Either the dogs or the cat sleeps in the room.

-Neither the cat nor the dogs sleep in the room.

-Sam, together with his children, is in the room.

-The brothers as well as their sister are good at their studies.

-The dogs, along with their owner, run in the park.

e) All…but, Both…and  Plural Subject

-All but Jane have completed the essay.

-Both the girl and her mother love art.

8. Titles of books, movies, plays  Singular Subject

-‘The Avengers’ is an interesting movie.

-‘The Three Musketeers’ is written by Alexander Dumas.

9. More than one subject joined by ‘and’  Plural Subject

-John and Sally walk to school together.

-The dog and the cat are always fighting.

-Fish and chips is my favorite food.

-The horse and carriage is no longer a main form of transport.

1. My mother always (has / have) some spare change in her purse.

4. Global warming (has / have) caused a lot of damage to the environment.

6. During my teenage years I (can / could) run much faster.

12. The pants my mother bought for me (is / are) in my bedroom.

16. Every student (has / have) to actively participate in sports.

20. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.

21. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.

22. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.