Cohort 27 - Quiz On Sva II.

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| By Emiko Sultana
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Emiko Sultana
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Cohort 27 - Quiz On Sva II. - Quiz

Subject-verb agreement: if you’ve been speaking, writing, and reading English for a while now, you probably think you’ve got this most basic of grammar topics covered. But do you? Sure, none of us would ever write "subjects needs verbs" or "this tip writer need new ideas." We all know that plural subjects take plural verbs and that singular subjects take singular verbs. But can you identify the correct verb choice in each sentence below?


Questions and Answers
  • 1. 

    One of those disasters that often ________ occurs/occur only in movies happened just as I got off the plane.

  • 2. 

    The first author as well as the last two authors ________ (has/have) approved the proofs.

    Explanation
    The phrase "as well as" always introduces parenthetical information, which one should not take into account when determining the singularity or plurality of the verb. Thus, the only subject that matters here is "the first author," which is singular. If we were to replace "as well as" with "and," we'd need to use "have."

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  • 3. 

    Getting my paper accepted in Cell and seeing it in the finished journal ________​ (​​​​​​was/were) the highlight of my career.

    Explanation
    "Getting my paper accepted in Cell and seeing it in the finished journal” can be considered one idea, so it can take a singular verb. It would be equally acceptable to write, “Getting my paper accepted in Cell and seeing it in the finished journal were the highlights of my career,” but in that case the writer is thinking of these as two separate events. Consider also, “A carelessness and inattention to detail runs through her work.” The singular article “a” makes it clear that “carelessness and inattention to detail” is a singular idea.

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  • 4. 

    Either the children or the parent ________ (has/have) to give in.

    Explanation
    When two or more subjects are joined by "or," the verb must agree with the closest subject. Thus, we would have to write, "The parent or the children have to give in."

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  • 5. 

    Not only the previously published papers but also the one under review ________ (were/was) called into question.

    Explanation
    The verb agrees with the closer subject.

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  • 6. 

    More than one of the authors ________ (has/have) received the Nobel Prize.

    Explanation
    When a noun phrase contains more than one and a singular noun, the verb is normally singular: There is more than one way to skin a cat. ... When more than one is followed by of and a plural noun, the verb is plural: More than one of the paintings were stolen.

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  • 7. 

    Ten dollars ________ (is/are) not enough to get me to jump in the Atlantic Ocean in February.

    Explanation
    Some seemingly plural subjects can be singular in certain contexts. For example, "Physics is an interesting subject” but “The physics of this contraption baffle me."

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  • 8. 

    Boston, along with all the New England cities, ________ (tend/tends) to get snow in January.

    Explanation
    When commas set off a parenthetical element in a sentence, what lies between the commas has no effect on the verb. So we would write, “All New England cities, including Boston, tend to get snow in January.

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  • 9. 

    Each of the editors ________ (want/wants) to accept the paper.

    Explanation
    When "each" is the subject, as here, it is singular. When it modifies a plural subject, it’s plural. Thus, we would write "The editors each want to accept the paper." Now the subject is "editors" rather than "each."

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  • 10. 

    A proportion of authors ________ (are/is) at the conference.

    Explanation
    Even though "a proportion" is singular, the verb should agree with "authors," the object of the preposition ("of" is a preposition). However, if we use "the proportion" instead of "a proportion," then the verb should always be singular: "The proportion of authors at the conference is lower this year than last year."

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  • 11. 

    Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children ________ (are/is) my favourite novel.

    Explanation
    When used in sentences, the titles of books, plays, poems, movies, and so on are singular.

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  • 12. 

    Politics ________ (are/is) an issue in R. K. Narayan’s The Man-eater of Malgudi.

    Explanation
    Plural nouns that are singular in meaning
    Some plural nouns take singular verbs, for example, athletics, economics, politics, news, mumps, and measles.

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  • 13. 

    The majority of English majors ________ (reads/read) Conrad’s Heart of Darkness while at university.

    Explanation
    Collective nouns

    These are nouns that are singular in form, but plural in meaning.
    Examples: band, minority, majority, class, community, dozen, family, public, team
    When they act as one entity, use a singular verb.
    When they do separate things, use a plural verb, BUT it is easier to reword the sentence. For example, write “the members of the team” instead of “the team.”

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  • 14. 

    Each of Sylvia Plath’s “bee poems” ________ (use/uses) the theme of beekeeping to express aspects of the human condition.

    Explanation
    single indefinite pronoun: e.g., anyone, anybody, each, either, none
    They use singular verbs.

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  • 15. 

    Both of the main characters in Waiting for Godot ________ (believes/ believe) Godot is the purpose of life.

    Explanation
    plural indefinite pronouns: both, few, many, several - They use plural verbs.
    All, any, most, and some depend on the situation. They can be either singular or plural.

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  • 16. 

    Neither Edna’s neighbours nor her husband ________ (agrees/agree) with her decision.

    Explanation
    If the subjects are joined by “nor” or “or,” the verb agrees with the closer subject (the last one)

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  • 17. 

    Christie and Prin ________ (is/are) characters from Laurence’s The Diviners.

    Explanation
    If the two subjects are joined by “and” the verb will be plural in most situations
    exception: when the joined subjects are preceded by “every,” “no,” or “nothing”

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  • 18. 

    The characters in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night ________ (lives/live) in a world that has been turned upside-down.

    Explanation
    . When the subject and verb are separated

    Find the subject and verb and make sure they agree.
    Ignore the words in-between because they do not affect agreement.

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  • 19. 

    Either the microphone or the speakers ________ (are/is) broken. 

    Explanation
    If joined by or / nor, then the subjects are not combined, so the verb must agree with whichever subject is closest to it.

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  • 20. 

    Neither the teacher nor the students ________ (wants/want) to stay late.

    Explanation
    If joined by or / nor, then the subjects are not combined, so the verb must agree with whichever subject is closest to it.

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  • 21. 

    Either answer ________ (is/are) acceptable 

    Explanation
    The correct answer is "is" because the word "either" is used to refer to one of two options, and in this case, there is only one option given. Therefore, "is" is the correct form of the verb to agree with the singular subject "answer".

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  • 22. 

    Thirty years ________ (is/are) a long time.

    Explanation
    Quantities of money, time and distance are considered singular.

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  • 23. 

    One of the eggs ________ (is/are) broken.

    Explanation
    One of the eggs is broken. Of the eggs is a prepositional phrase. The subject one and the verb is are both singular.

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  • 24. 

    Demonstrating effective continuous-monitoring programs ________ also helped leading institutions meet heightened regulatory expectations.

    Explanation
    The verb following programs pertains not to that word but to demonstrating—it is the act of demonstrating, not the programs, that has provided the assistance referred to here, so has is the correct form of the verb: “Demonstrating effective continuous-monitoring programs has also helped leading institutions meet heightened regulatory expectations.”

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  • 25. 

    Nearly one in three organizations ________ (spend/spends) less than one million dollars annually on compliance with the regulation.

    Explanation
    In sentences such as this in which a phrase refers to a proportion of a whole in which the proportion is one, the verb should be singular: “Nearly one in three organizations spends less than one million dollars annually on compliance with the regulation.”

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  • 26. 

    Implementing simplistic solutions based on symptomatic causes, or a single cause when there are multiple interacting causes, ________  (is/are) highly likely to end in failure and disappointment.

    Explanation
    When two choices are presented as alternatives rather than as a combination, with or rather than and linking them, a singular verb is appropriate because it applies only to the first option: “Implementing simplistic solutions based on symptomatic causes, or a single cause when there are multiple interacting causes, is highly likely to end in failure and disappointment.”

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  • 27. 

    The patchwork of federal and state regulations ________ left firms with great uncertainty about how to comply.

    Explanation
    The verb applies to the subject patchwork, not to the phrase modifying the subject, so has, not have, is correct: “The patchwork of federal and state regulations has left firms with great uncertainty about how to comply.”

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  • 28. 

    I feel that each of these skills ________ crucial for this job.

    Explanation
    The subject of this sentence is each, not skills, so the associated verb must be singular: “I feel that each of these skills is crucial for this job.”

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  • 29. 

    Most of the news ________ good.

    Explanation
    (News- uncountable noun- Singular)

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  • 30. 

    Most of the flowers ________ yellow.

    Explanation
    Flowers plural

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  • 31. 

    All of the pizza ________ (was/were) gone.

    Explanation
    The correct answer is "was" because "pizza" is a singular noun and requires a singular verb form. In this sentence, "All of the pizza" is the subject, and since "pizza" is not plural, the verb "was" is used instead of "were."

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  • 32. 

    All of the children ________ late.

    Explanation
    The correct answer is "are, were" because the sentence is referring to multiple children, indicating that the verb should be plural. "Are" is the present tense form of the verb, while "were" is the past tense form.

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  • 33. 

    The man with the roses ________ (look/ looks) like your brother.

    Explanation
    The man is the subject here which is singular.

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  • 34. 

    The weather on the coast ________ (appear/appears) to be good this weekend.

    Explanation
    The correct answer is "appears" because it agrees with the subject "weather" which is singular.

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  • 35. 

    ________ (Is/Are) each of the girls ready to leave?

    Explanation
    The word "each" indicates that the question is referring to each individual girl separately. Therefore, the correct verb to use is "is" because it agrees with the singular subject "each girl."

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  • 36. 

    Nobody in the class ________ the answer. 

    Explanation
    The correct answer is "has, knows" because the sentence is referring to a singular subject ("Nobody") which requires the singular form of the verb "has" and the singular form of the verb "knows".

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  • 37. 

    All of the milk ________ (is/are) gone.

    Explanation
    milk is an uncountable noun.

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  • 38. 

    The teacher voted by students ________ traveling. 

  • 39. 

    His knowledge of Maths and English ________ (aid/aids) him.

    Explanation
    The correct answer is "aids" because it agrees with the subject "knowledge," which is singular. The verb "aids" is the third-person singular form of the verb "aid," indicating that the knowledge of Maths and English helps or supports him.

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  • 40. 

    Some of the water ________ (is/are) gone.

    Explanation
    Because water (singular) is an uncountable noun and uncountable noun always follows the singular verb.

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  • 41. 

    Neither of the two lights ________ working.

    Explanation
    Neither shows singularity. However, it is different in case of Neither – Nor.

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  • 42. 

    Either the teacher or the students  ________ responsible. 

    Explanation
    When there are two subjects in one sentence change the verb according to the closest subject.

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  • 43. 

    Sumon, along with other teachers, ________ taking classes.  

    Explanation
    Remember this: Along with, Together with, as well as, in addition to, accompanied by.
    Use the subject before all these words present in a sentence to change the verb.

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  • 44. 

     Just 10 miles from these buildings ________ (stand/stands) a castle. 

    Explanation
    Inverted Sentence- Verb (stand/stands)+ Subject (a castle-singular)+ Object

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  • 45. 

    A bouquet of yellow roses ________ beautiful. 

    Explanation
    A bouquet ( singular subject)

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  • 46. 

    A pair of jeans ________ in the bathroom. 

  • 47. 

    My pants ________​ ​​​​​​torn.

    Explanation
    The correct answer is "were" because it indicates that the action of the pants being torn happened in the past. "Are" would be incorrect because it implies that the pants are currently torn.

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  • 48. 

    It is only Orko, not his classmates, who ________ (eat/ eats) lunch in the classroom.

    Explanation
    The subject of the sentence is "Orko," and since it is a singular noun, the verb should also be in the singular form. Therefore, the correct verb to use is "eats."

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  • 49. 

    The family ________ (ride/rides) bikes together each day.

    Explanation
    The subject "family" is singular, so it should be followed by the singular verb "rides." However, "bikes" is plural because it refers to multiple bikes. Therefore, the correct sentence is "The family rides bikes together each day."

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  • 50. 

    The police ________ here. 

    Explanation
    The correct answer for this question is "are, were" because the word "police" is a plural noun, referring to a group of individuals. Therefore, we use the plural form of the verb "to be" which is "are" for the present tense and "were" for the past tense.

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Our quizzes are rigorously reviewed, monitored and continuously updated by our expert board to maintain accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.

  • Current Version
  • Mar 19, 2023
    Quiz Edited by
    ProProfs Editorial Team
  • Nov 04, 2019
    Quiz Created by
    Emiko Sultana
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