Advertisements
Advertisements
Verbs - singular or plural
Look at the following two sentences. Which one is correct?
a) The jury were divided in their opinion.
b) The jury was unanimous in their decision.
Jury is a collective noun. Whenever there is a sense of unity, we use singular
verb with collective nouns but when it is used in the sense of separation, we use
plural verb with them, so both are correct in different situations.
Here are some more such words.
| If you use plural verbs, you will always be correct, but if you use a singular noun, you may be wrong. So - to be safe - use plural verbs with these nouns. |
- Work in pairs. Write five questions using some of the nouns given in B.
above.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentence:
- Summons............ sent for his arrest.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Advertisements
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentence:
This news _________broadcast from All India Radio.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentence:
The media _______ become more responsible nowadays.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
| Is it true that the students from the Space Research Centre are arriving this evening? | Yes, the study they are conducting needs an elevated location like our campus. |
| I agree. The constellation they are going to observe is clearly visible from here. | What about the team supervisor? Is he coming? |
| No, their manager called this morning. The supervisor is busy making arrangements for the committee which is to arrive tomorrow. |
I have heard that he is going to join politics. |
| Yes, this news is true. | But honesty his policy and politics is a corrupt game these days. |
| Yes, but that does not mean that good people should not join politics | Yes, you are right |
| When the pick-up bus that we have sent to the railway station arrives here, we may need help to shift the luggage which, I presume, is going to be very heavy. |
List the subjects from the dialogues in A1 under the following headings. One has been done as an example
| COUNTABLE SINGULAR | COUNTABLE PLURAL | UNCOUNTABLE |
| students |
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
Politics ________ not meant for students.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
To an outsider the economics of this company__________ to be in a
shambles. (Hint: economics here refers to the company's financial status)
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Work in pairs and decide whether the following are countable singular (cs), countable plural (cp) or uncountable (uc). Write the symbols under each circle. One has been done as an example
| Feet - CP | person - | news - | oxen - |
| tooth - | coffee - | knife - | boxes - |
| goose - | gentlement - | oil - | furmiture - |
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
The staff _________ happy with their working environment.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
Skittles _________a popular game in India these days.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
Harsh's spectacles __________ lost on his journey to Manipal.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
Mathematics __________ a compulsory subject for under-graduation in most of
the science and commerce streams.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Some nouns look as if they are plural, bat are in fact singular. Economics is an important subject at Senior Secondary level. Some other school and university subjects work in the same way. Guess which subjects these are from the clues.
| Club | Subject |
| E = mc2 | ..................................... |
| 1 + 1 = 2 | ..................................... |
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
The public ________ jubilant when Sachin Tendulkar scored his SOth
century.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Work in pairs and complete the following spider diagrams, a, b and c. All the words will be related to the word in the centre. Some clues are given.
All the above nouns look like plurals (i.e. they end ins.) But they are, in fact, singular nouns
Now, complete the sentence : For these nouns we use a .................. verb.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Will the following take a plural or a singular verb? Why?
| The United States of America, 500 rupees, a number of people, the Arabian Nights, a couple of friends, half of us, the majority of the members of the committee, a gang of robbers, a herd of cattle |
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Fill in the blanks with appropriate verbs to complete this biography of Rickety Ron.
RICKETY RON
Rickety Ron is a student of statistics, which for many years .............. been his favourite subject. Ron has always loved playing with numbers. Dramatics ........................ his life but every time he takes a role for stage acting, he's mysteriously down with mumps. Mumps ....................... . always been his undoing! Ron is no good at games and opts for the least exerting sports of all. So, for him, it's skittles, darts and cards. Cards .......................... his favourite, though! He loves aerobics too. Aerobics, to him, ..................... both relaxation and entertainment.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the following.
What are shears used for ?
They are used ........................
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Circle the subject and connect it with a verb which follows it
| The birds which migrated from the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary Were Found in a new location. ! Clue: What has been located? (Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary? The birds?) |
1. The boy whom you saw walking on the road yesterday while returning from
school is my brother.
2. The book you wanted to read is not available right now.
3. The furniture which was bought in the auction is made of solid teak-wood.
4. The team which won four matches this year has been nominated for the
President's award.
5. A visit to the various monasteries provides an insight into Buddhism.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
1. One of my friends have gone to Canada.
Concept: undefined >> undefined
