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Subject-verb agreement or concord is the use of the verb in accordance with the noun
or pronoun that acts as the subject in the sentence. The most common mistake made by students and new language learners is the wrong use of verb forms.
The verb has to agree with the real subject that follows the introductory there. If the subject is singular, then there will be followed by a singular verb. If the real subject is plural, then 'there' will be followed by a plural verb.
There is no chair in the room.
There are no chairs in the room. There are fifty boys in the class. There is one girl in the class.
Exercise 1 Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb.
1. Each of the girls ____ her own dress. (has/have)
2. Five miles____ long distance. (is/are) 3. Many a man ____ tried hard to climb the treacherous mountain range. ( have/has) 4. The furniture of the house ____ quite impressive. (is/are) 5. Few students ______ coming to the party. (is, are) 6. Uma, my childhood friend ____ leaving for Delhi next month. (is/are) 7. Most of my friends _____ government employees. (is/are) 8. The level of pain tolerance ____ from person to person. (vary/varies) 9. Either Tina or Rohit ____ telling lies. (is/are) 10. A number of people _____reported to have fallen sick after drinking the water from tubewell. (was/were) 11. The government ____ criticised by the Supreme Court for their actions. (was/were) 12. No one ____ a greater collection of books than my friend Reeshav. (has / have) 13. Somebody ____ waiting at the door for you. (is / are) 14. Two ____ ago, here is the place where the accident took place. (year/years) 15. Fast food, like burgers and street food, ____ harmful to our health. (is/are) 16. All the students ____ excited to visit the museum after school. (is/are) 17. Neither Joseph nor his family ____ French. (speaks/speak) 18. Either Ross or Joey ____ broken the glass. (has/have) 19. If anybody _____ for me, do let me know. (calls/call) 20. The plumber, along with his helper ____, expected to come soon. (is/are) 21. Several neighbours _____ complained about the loud sound coming from that house. (has/have) 22. Neither Penny nor Amy ____ went to work. (has/have) 23. The Olympics ____ held every four years. (is/are) 24. The people ___ lived without electricity for many years. (has/have) 25. The dog _____ chasing the cat for quite some time. (is/are)
Answers – 1. Each of the girls has her own dress. (has/have) 2. Five miles is a long distance. (is/are) 3. Many a man has tried hard to climb the treacherous mountain range. ( have/has) 4. The furniture of the house is quite impressive. (is/are) 5. Few students are coming to the party. (is, are) 6. Uma, my childhood friend, is leaving for Delhi next month. (is/are) 7. Most of my friends are government employees. (is/are) 8. The level of pain tolerance varies from person to person. (vary/varies) 9. Either Tina or Rohit is telling lies. (is, are) 10. A number of people were reported to have fallen sick after drinking the water from tubewell. (was/were) 11. The government was criticised by the Supreme Court for their actions. (was/were) 12. No one has a greater collection of books than my friend Reeshav. (has/have) 13. Somebody is waiting at the door for you. (is/are) 14. Two years ago, this was the place where the accident took place. (year/years) 15. Fast food, like burgers and street food, is harmful for our health. (is/are) 16. All the students are excited to visit the museum after school. (is/are) 17. Neither Joseph nor his family speaks French. (speaks/speak) 18. Either Ross or Joey has broken the glass. (has/have) 19. If anybody calls for me, do let me know. (calls/call) 20. The plumber, along with his helper, is expected to come soon. (is/are) 21. Several neighbours have complained about the loud sound coming from that house. (has/have) 22. Neither Penny nor Amy has gone to work. (has/have) 23. The Olympics is held every four years. (is/are) 24. The people have lived without electricity for many years. (has/have) 25. The dog is chasing the cat for quite some time. (is/are)
Exercise 2 Go through the following sentences and use the right form of the verb in the blanks to complete the sentences.
1. Mr Simon, the great painter and philanthropist, ____ arrived. (has/have)
2. Bread and butter ___ his daily food. (is/are) 3. Yusuf and Rahul ____ gone to the school fair. (have/has) 4. Slow and steady ____ the race. (win/wins) 5. The players ___ preparing for the big game tonight. (were/was) 6. The jury ____ unanimous in their decision. (was/were) 7. The little boy _______ mangoes. (like/likes) 8. The teachers ________ asked to attend a conference today. (were/was) 9. I _______ it is good for you. (thinks/think) 10. Neenu and Anu _____ twins. (are/is) 11. Rahul ______ English and Spanish. (speak/speaks) 12. Caro _______ in a bank. (works/work) 13. Mathan, Tovino and Boban _____ best friends. (are/is) 14. Every one of us ____ here. (is/are) 15. None of them _______ completed their assignments. (have/has) 16. Jithu _______ a BMW car. (has/have) 17. What do you ______ about wasting food? (think/thinks) 18. Veena ______ that it would not be okay for us to go out at this time. (feels/feel) 19. ______ anyone seen the movie? (has/have) 20. We ______ at the park yesterday. (were/was) 21. The movie _____ great. (was/were) 22. The curtains _____ the wall colours perfectly. (matches/match) 23. Boney and Heera ______ moving to Bangalore. (are/is) 24. Preetha _____ a son and a daughter. (has/have) 25. Their daughter, Sheela, ____ a grade X student. (is/are)
Answers –
1. Mr Simon, the great painter and philanthropist, has arrived. (has/have)
2. Bread and butter is his daily food. (is/are) 3. Yusuf and Rahul have gone to the school fair. (have/has) 4. Slow and steady wins the race. (win/wins) 5. The players were preparing for the big game tonight. (were/was) 6. The jury was unanimous in their decision. (was/were) 7. The little boy likes mangoes. (like/likes) 8. The teachers were asked to attend a conference today. (were/was) 9. I think it is good for you. (thinks/think) 10. Neenu and Anu are twins. (are/is) 11. Rahul speaks English and Spanish. (speak/speaks) 12. Caro works in a bank. (works/work) 13. Mathan, Tovino and Boban are best friends. (are/is) 14. Every one of us is here. (is/are) 15. None of them have completed their assignments. (have/has) 16. Jithu has a BMW car. (has/have) 17. What do you think about wasting food? (think/thinks) 18. Veena feels that it would not be okay for us to go out at this time. (feels/feel) 19. Has anyone seen the movie? (has/have) 20. We were at the park yesterday. (were/was) 21. The movie was great. (was/were) 22. The curtains match the wall colours perfectly. (matches/match) 23. Boney and Heera are moving to Bangalore. (are/is) 24. Preetha has a son and a daughter. (has/have) 25. Their daughter, Sheela, is a grade X student. (is/are)
