Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
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 |
Advertisements
Solution
All of these, except the Arabian Nights, a gang of robbers and a herd of cattle, will take a plural verb because the persons or things they are referring to are in plural. If a singular verb is used, it will spoil the sense of the sentence in each case.
APPEARS IN
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. |
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.
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
Politics ________ not meant for students.
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
The staff _________ happy with their working environment.
Tick the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
Harsh's spectacles __________ lost on his journey to Manipal.
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 | ..................................... |
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.
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the following.
What are shears used for ?
They are used ........................
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the following.
What are pliers made of ?
They .........................................
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
Every one of the managers have applied for leave today in protest against
the management.
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the following.
How much ..............?
................. cost .............
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*:
Oil and water does not mix.
| Statement * : Two or more Singular Nouns connected by 'and' are normally followed by a _________ Verb . |
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
My uncle and guardian want me to start my own business.
Read the following sentence. The Sentence contains one error. Correct the
error and complete the statement that are marked*:
No scholarship or reward were given to the student who stood first in the
examination.
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 . |
