Subject - Verb Agreement

                                                                                            

Multiple  Choice                                         

1. Many of the headlines in the newspaper......hard to believe.

     a. seem                          c. seems

     b. seemed                      d. seeming

2. Alan .... know the answer.

     a. doesn`t                       c. don`t

     b. do                               d. did

3. Mathematics.....considered to be a difficult school subject among 
    students.

     a. was                            c. were

     b. is                                d. are

4. Somebody ....... spilt tea on the table cloth. 

     a. have                           c. had

     b. has                             d. will have 

5. President Jokowi, together with his wife,....... the press cordially.

     a. greets                        c. greet

     b. greeting                     d. greeted

6. The committee .....very different lives in private.

     a. leads                         c. lead

     b. leading                      d. led

7. The jury......polled for their verdicts. 

     a. were                          c. is

     b. was                           d. are

8. As far back as Ancient Egyptian times, historians....us of the use of calcium as a

    building material. 

    a. tell                              c. tells                       

    b. told                             d. telling    

9. Egg, fish, and lentil....high in protein     

    a. is                                c. are

    b. was                            d. were

10. .....the news on at five or six?

    a. is                                c. are

    b. was                            d. were

ERROR ANALYSIS

1. Breaking and entering is / are against the law.
2. The lightning fills / filling the sky.
3. Noodle and tofu is / are my favorite food.
4. Statistics seem / seems easy this year. 
5. If Hafizh was / were here, you'd be sorry.
6. Some of the questions seem / seems too hard.
7. Each of us is / are bringing a small gift that cost / costs less than $10 for another person.
8. Ten dollars is /  the entry fee.
9. Six months have / had passed since the assignment.
10. I wish it was / were Friday.
11. A catalog of courses and requirements often confuse / confuses students.
12. This is the only one of the flowers that bloom / blooms.
13. A dictionary and a one-volume encyclopedia make / makes a good beginning for a reference library.
14. The special effects in the movie was / were particularly original.
15. The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected / was expecting shortly.

An explanation  of the error analysis

1. In those sentences, breaking and entering are compound nouns.
2. Fills is singular to agree with the singular subject lightning.
3. When two nouns or constructions are joined by and to form a single unit, that single unit takes a singular verb. 
4. A few nouns, though plural in form, take a singular verb.  The correct answer is seems.
5. Hafizh isn't actually here, so we say were, not was. The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive mood, which is used to express things that are hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory. The subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as plural verbs.    
6. The subject is some. Some is an indefinite pronoun that can be singular or plural, depending on the noun to which it refers. Questions is plural, so the sentence requires a plural verb. The correct verb is seem.
7. The subject is each, which is always singular, so the verb must be singular. A demonstrative pronoun must agree with its antecedent, the correct answer is costs.
8. Ten dollars is considered one amount of money.
9. Six months is considered six individual months.
10. In the example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being expressed; therefore, were, which we usually think of as a plural verb, is used with the singular subject I.
11. The subject is catalog,which is a singular noun, so the verb must be singular. The correct verb is confuses. Remember, the object of the preposition (courses and requirements) is never the subject of the sentence. 
12. If a relative pronoun (WHO, WHICH, THAT, WHOSE) refers to only one, use a singular verb. 
13. When two subjects are connected by and, even if they are both singular, they are followed by a plural verb. The correct answer is make.
14. Sometimes a prepositional phrase comes between the subject and verb in a sentence. Remember - the subject is not in the prepositional phrase. In the stadium is prepositional phrase. The subject is effects, which is plural, so the verb must be plural.  The correct verb is were.
15. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. These words and phrases are not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular. So, the answer is, is expected.

     

Refences: Douglas College

                 www.englishwsheets.com

                 Methodist University

                 images.pcmac.org

                 www.pcc.edu