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Question
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.
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Solution
Activity meant for at class level. The five questions are given below :
- Do you think the staff agree to these proposals ?
- How are the audience going to react to this price rise ?
- What have the council decided about the water problem ?
- How do you think are the public receiving this increase in petrol prices ?
- How do the crew react to our anchoring in the mid-sea ?
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the following dialogue. First, underline the word or words that
represent the subject in each sentence of the dialogue. Then circle the Mverbs that each subject refers to. (One has been done for you as an example)
| 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. |
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentence:
- Summons............ sent for his arrest.
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentence:
This news _________broadcast from All India Radio.
| 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 |
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
Politics ________ not meant for students.
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 | ..................................... |
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the following.
What are shears used for ?
They are used ........................
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.
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.
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the following.
What are tongs used for?
.............. are ..............
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
Neither of the boxers were able to score a decisive victory:
| Statement*: Subjects containing 'one of, 'each of, 'every one of and 'neither of' are followed by _______ verbs. ! |
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
Tobacco and alcohol is injurious to health.
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the following.
What ........... ?
............................... are used for cutting cloth .
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the following.
Can you lend me your compasses?
................. ,they ........................
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
He and I was at Patna University together.
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
The Collector and District Magistrate are away.
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
Neither he nor I has any objection to your plan.
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
Either you or Rashmi have to own the responsibility for the mishap.
| Statements *: When the Subjects connected by 'or'or'nor' are of different person,the verb should agree in person with the Subject __________to it . |
