In any sentence or clause, the subject must agree with the verb, e.g. 'The boys play football on Saturdays, but John plays only on Friday'. The subject 'boys' is plural, so the verb is required to be in the plural form 'play'. The subject 'John' is singular, so the verb is required to be in the singular form 'plays'.
When you hear the English language, you will probably be able to detect a wrong subject/verb agreement, even if you don't know that's what it is. A word or words will sound wrong. Occasionally, in written language, it's harder to detect as our brains tend to read what should be correct. This is all very nice, and I am sure that you don't have any problems with this stuff. Unfortunately, there are situations that can cause some difficulties.
This 11-plus quiz is a bit tricky, so take your time and read the questions carefully, even saying them out loud if it helps.
1.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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Some of the money was missing |
[ ] |
Each takes his turn at riding the horse |
[ ] |
Everyone in the club has a set of golf clubs |
[ ] |
Everyone in the club have a set of golf clubs |
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2.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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Each of the students are responsible for looking after their things |
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None of them speak French |
[ ] |
None of them speaks French |
[ ] |
Everyone has left the building |
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3.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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[ ] |
Neither of the two computers is working |
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Neither of the two computers are working |
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Which book do you want? Either is fine with me |
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None of the athletes have turned up for the meet |
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4.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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Either my father or my brothers is going to drive me to the cinema |
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Either my brothers or my father is going to drive me to the cinema |
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Either my father or my brothers are going to drive me to the cinema |
[ ] |
Either my mother or my father is going to drive me to the cinema |
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5.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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Here are the toys for Peter |
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There are two ways to solve this problem |
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There is two ways to solve this problem |
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Here is something for you |
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6.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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The director, along with his executives, is in a meeting |
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The director, along with his executives, are in a meeting |
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The director and the chief executive are in a meeting |
[ ] |
The director is in a meeting |
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7.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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The police have been informed |
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The family is having a picnic |
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My trousers is torn |
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My trousers are torn |
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8.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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People is easily duped by politicians |
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People are easily duped by politicians |
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The government are doing a good job |
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The government is doing a good job |
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9.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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He has a lot of knowledge about this subject |
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The furniture in her house is very modern |
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The news is bad |
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The news are bad |
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10.
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In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
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He was one of those workers that was fired |
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He was one of those workers that were fired |
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He was the only one of the workers who was fired |
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The number of road accidents has fallen |
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1.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[ ] |
Some of the money was missing |
[ ] |
Each takes his turn at riding the horse |
[ ] |
Everyone in the club has a set of golf clubs |
[x] |
Everyone in the club have a set of golf clubs |
|
|
2.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[x] |
Each of the students are responsible for looking after their things |
[ ] |
None of them speak French |
[ ] |
None of them speaks French |
[ ] |
Everyone has left the building |
|
|
3.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[ ] |
Neither of the two computers is working |
[x] |
Neither of the two computers are working |
[ ] |
Which book do you want? Either is fine with me |
[ ] |
None of the athletes have turned up for the meet |
|
|
4.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[x] |
Either my father or my brothers is going to drive me to the cinema |
[ ] |
Either my brothers or my father is going to drive me to the cinema |
[ ] |
Either my father or my brothers are going to drive me to the cinema |
[ ] |
Either my mother or my father is going to drive me to the cinema |
|
|
5.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[ ] |
Here are the toys for Peter |
[ ] |
There are two ways to solve this problem |
[x] |
There is two ways to solve this problem |
[ ] |
Here is something for you |
|
|
6.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[ ] |
The director, along with his executives, is in a meeting |
[x] |
The director, along with his executives, are in a meeting |
[ ] |
The director and the chief executive are in a meeting |
[ ] |
The director is in a meeting |
|
|
7.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[ ] |
The police have been informed |
[ ] |
The family is having a picnic |
[x] |
My trousers is torn |
[ ] |
My trousers are torn |
|
|
8.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[x] |
People is easily duped by politicians |
[ ] |
People are easily duped by politicians |
[ ] |
The government are doing a good job |
[ ] |
The government is doing a good job |
|
|
9.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[ ] |
He has a lot of knowledge about this subject |
[ ] |
The furniture in her house is very modern |
[ ] |
The news is bad |
[x] |
The news are bad |
|
|
10.
|
In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong? |
|
[x] |
He was one of those workers that was fired |
[ ] |
He was one of those workers that were fired |
[ ] |
He was the only one of the workers who was fired |
[ ] |
The number of road accidents has fallen |
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