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Verb Notes-1 [Level-6]

Verb Notes-1 [Level-6]

 

Subject - verb agreement:

Singular subject - singular verb

Plural subject - plural verb

for 3rd person only with simple present tense verbs

Examples:

The man goes to office by bus. (3rd person singular subject - singular verb)

The men go to office by bus. (3rd person plural subject - plural verb)

 

Rule #1:

Nouns like food, clothing, furniture or stationery are taken as singular and so the verb will always be singular.

Examples:

  1. The food is hot.

 

  1. The furniture needs repair.

 

Rule #2:

“A pair of socks/jeans/trousers” = singular subject. So, verb = singular.

Examples:

  1. This pair of socks looks old.

 

  1. Your new pair of jeans is washed.

 

Rule #3:

‘A lot of’ / ‘plenty of’ - uncountable nouns - the verb is singular.

‘A lot of’ / ‘plenty of’ - countable nouns - the verb is plural. Examples:

  1. A lot of milk needs to be bought today.

 

  1. A lot of children are coming to the party.

 

  1. Plenty of wheat was needed for the bread.

 

  1. Plenty of mangoes were needed for the juice.

 

Rule #4:

‘Much’ - ‘a little’ - ‘news’ always take the singular verb while ‘people’ - ‘police’ - ‘cattle’ are always considered as plural and so will take the plural form of the verb.

Examples:

  1. Much has been said about the new film.

 

  1. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

 

  1. Political news always comes first.

 

  1. The police have caught the thief.

 

  1. People are cheering on the home team.

 

Rule #5:

When the sentence starts with 'There' the verb will agree with the actual subject of the sentence.

Examples

  1. There is a chair in the garden. (chair - singular subject)

 

  1. There are many chairs in the garden. (chairs - plural subject)

 

Rule #6:

When words like ‘one of - ‘each’ - ‘either’ - ‘neither’ - ‘everyone’ are used in the subject, the verb which follows is always singular.

Examples:

  1. One of the girls is not well.

 

  1. Everyone is going to the party.

 

  1. Each of the children wants new books.

 

Rule #7:

When two subjects are joined with "as well as" or "with" the verb will always agree with the number of the first noun (subject):

Examples:

  1. The teacher, with all the boys, is coming here.

 

  1. The students as well as the teacher are coming here.

 

Rule #8:

If the subjects are taken as one unit then the verb will be singular. Collective nouns are also considered as a single unit and hence the verb that follows will always be singular.

Examples:

  1. Bread and butter tastes good. (one unit)

 

  1. The new cup and saucer has broken. (one unit)

 

  1. The team of cricketers has arrived. (team - collective noun)

 

  1. There is an army of ants in the kitchen. (army - collective noun)

 

Rule #9:

If the two subjects refer to the one and the same noun the verb that follows is always singular:

Examples:

  1. Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the first lady prime minister and the iron lady of India was very popular.

 

Rule #10:

If the subject and the following verb are separated by some words, then the verb must agree with the number of the subject.

Examples:

  1. The student, carrying books, is late for school. (student - singular. is - singular)

 

  1. Those girls, wearing blue frocks, look very pretty. (girls - plural. Look - plural)

 

Rule #11:

Even if the name of a country, a book, a film, etc. is denoted by a plural noun, the verb which follows will always be singular.

Examples:

  1. The United States of America has got a new president.

 

  1. "Gulliver's Travels" was written by Jonathan Swift.

 

Rule #12:

When a plural number is used for distance, weight and amounts of money as a single figure, it is regarded as a singular subject and hence the verb that will follow will take the singular form.

Examples:

  1. Three years is a long time to stay away from home.

 

  1. Five thousand rupees has been donated for the children's welfare.

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