TASK 1 (PROFICIENCY/ADVANCED)

For the questions 1 to 20: In each of the following sentences supply a verb in agreement with its subject:

1. To take pay and then not to do work …………………………..dishonest.

2. The cost of all these articles …………….……………… risen.
3. The jury ………………………….…divided in their opinions.
4. That night every one of the boat's crew ………………..….. down with fever.
5. One or the other of those fellows……………….…………stolen the watch.
6. The strain of all the difficulties and vexations and anxieties…………… more than he could bear.
7. No news ………………….… good news.
8. The accountant and the cashier …………………..……absconded.
9. A good man and useful citizen……………………..……. passed away.
10. The famous juggler and conjurer ………………………………….too unwell to perform.
11. The Three Musketeers…………………………..written by Dumas.
12. Each of the suspected men………………………….arrested.
13. The ebb and flow of the tides…………………………..explained by Newton.
14. Ninety rupees …………………………….. too much for this bag.
15. The cow as well as the horse……………………….on grass.
16. Neither his father nor his mother…………………………..alive.
17. There ……………………………. many objections to the plan.
18. Two-thirds of the city………………………in ruins
19. The formation of paragraphs………………………………………..very important.
20. Man's happiness or misery …………………………… in a great measure in his own hands.

TASK 2 (PROFICIENCY/ADVANCED)
Choose the form of the verb(s) that agrees with the subject.

1. Lack of sleep and poor nutrition often … in the body's breakdown.

a) results
b) result
2. Neither the textbook nor the lectures _..... the kind of detailed information that the instructor regularly
puts on exams.
a) provides
b) provide
3. Having a goal, as well as a desire to fulfil the goal, …… extremely important in a person's future success.
a) is
b) are
4. The build-up of gases in the air from burning large tracts of forest ….. to global warming.
a) contributes
b) contribute
5. After slash and burn, there …… not enough nutrients in the soil to support vegetation.
a) is
b) are
6. A safe and healthy environment ….. in the top three concerns of Canadians these days.
a) ranks
b) rank
7. Every child and adult who purchases a ticket ….. eligible to receive a voucher from one of our sponsors.
a) is
b) are
8. With less exposure to smoke …… fewer illnesses and a stronger health care system.
 a) comes
b) come
9. Although downloading music and movies from the Internet …… illegal, it is not practical to impose a
harsh penalty.
a) is
b) are
10. 10. Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ….. the growth of trees but ….. trees to die
younger.
a) increases, causes
b) increases, cause
c) increase, cause
d) increase, causes
11. The temperature of the oceans that border Canada …… the patterns of the country's fall and winter
weather.
a) affects
b) affect
12. Each assigned reading and handout …… to be completed on the dates listed on the course calendar.
a) are
b) is
13. Neither the players nor the coach ….. to blame for the unruly behaviour of the fans.
a) was
b) were
14. None of the experts …… prepared for the astute questions from the young journalist.
a) was
b) were
15. Here ……. the case study and the report that you requested last week.
a) are
b) is
16. Helena's choice for the perfect breakfast …… bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee.
a) is
b) are
17. Because individuals can express their opinions and engage in conversations through comments or blog
posts, social media ….. more people feel involved in politics and entertainment.
a) helps
b) help
18. Rusty is one of the only dogs I know who ….. his dry dog food one piece at a time.
a) eat
b) eats
19. John Le Carre's "The Night Manager" is one of those books that ….. difficult to put down once you've
started reading.
a) is
b) are
20. The team's success is due to the leadership of the coach and the dedication of the players, which
….earned them a top place in the league.
a) has
b) have
TASK 3 (ADVANCED)
Fill in the gaps with the right forms of the verbs in the brackets.

1. The frogs at the cottage very loudly. (croak)

2. The horses wildly across the field. (gallop)
3. The herd of horses wildly across the field. (gallop)
4. There been many hurricanes this year. (have)
5. The woman with all the cats here regularly. (shop)
6. The mascot, as well as the hockey players, at the school. (volunteer)
7. The hockey players and the mascot at the school. (volunteer)
8. The hockey players or the mascot at the school. (volunteer)
TASK 4 (UPPER-INTERMEDIATE/FC)
Choose the correct verb form.

1. Jennifer (attends, attend) Georgia State University.

2. Emily and John (is, are) visiting Atlanta.
3. Mark or Susan (needs, need) to pick up Sam from daycare.
4. The opinions in that article (is, are) controversial.
5. Every book and article for the class (is, are) listed on the teacher’s website.
6. Attending concerts (is, are) fun.
7. Most of the book (is, are) exciting.
8. Some of the books (is, are) out of print.
9. One of the books (is, are) boring.
10. None of the books (is, are) interesting.
11. A number of employees (was, were) absent last week because of the snowstorm.
12. There (is, are) two cars in the driveway.
13. There (isn’t, aren’t) any milk in the fridge.
14. There (has been, have been) construction on that street for as long as I can remember.
15. Why (is, are) there a line at the bank on a Tuesday morning?
16. Sears (is, are) the store where we bought our fridge.
17. The local news (begins, begin) at eleven.
18. Economics (was, were) her most difficult subject.
19. Measles (was, were) once a common disease.
20. Fifty miles (is, are) too far to travel for a daily commute.
21. One hundred minus twenty-five (is, are) seventy-five.
22. The police (has arrived, have arrived) at the scene of the crime.
23. Brazilian Portuguese (is, are) her native dialect.
24. Many Japanese (is, are) fascinated by American popular culture.
25. The young (has, have) their whole lives ahead of them.

TASK 5 (UPPER-INTERMEDIATE/FC)
Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.
1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.
2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.
3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.
4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.
5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.
6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.
7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.
8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.
9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.
10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.
11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.
12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.
13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.
14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?
15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favourite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favourite subject.
16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.
17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?
18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.
19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left!
20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.
21. The committee members (leads, lead) very different lives in private.
22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press cordially.
23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.

TASK 6 (ADVANCED/PROFICIENCY)
Underline the subject (or compound subject) and then identify the verb that agrees with it, E.G.
Everyone in the telecom focus group (HAS/have) experienced problems with cell phones.

1. Your friendship over the years and your support (has/have) meant a great deal to us.
2. Hamilton Family Centre, a shelter for teenage runaways in San Francisco, (offers/offer) a wide variety of
services.
3. The main source of income for Trinidad (is/are) oil and pitch.
4. The chances of your being promoted (is/are) excellent.
5. There (was/were) a Pokémon card stuck to the refrigerator.
6. Neither the professor nor his assistants (was/were) able to solve the mystery of the eerie glow in the
laboratory.
7. Many hours at the driving range (has/have) led us to design golf balls with GPS locators in them.
8. Discovered in the soil of our city garden (was/were) a button dating from the Civil War dating from the
turn of the century.
9. Every year, during the midsummer festival, the smoke of village bonfires (fills/fill) the sky.
10. The story performers (was/were) surrounded by children and adults eager to see magical tales.
TASK 7 (ADVANCED/PROFICIENCY)
Edit the following sentences to eliminate problems with subject-verb agreement and write the edited
sentence. If a sentence is correct, write “correct.”
Jack’s first days in the infantry was gruelling
Jack’s first days in the infantry were gruelling

1. One of the main reasons for elephant poaching are the profits received from selling the ivory tusks.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. Not until my interview with dr Chang were other possibilities opened to me.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. Batik cloth from Bali, blue and white ceramics from Cambodia, and a bocce ball from Turin has made
Hannah’s room the talk of the dorm.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. The board of directors, ignoring the wishes of the neighbourhood, has voted to allow further development.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
5. Measles is a contagious childhood disease.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6. The presence of certain bacteria in our bodies are one of the factors that determines our overall health.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. Leah is the only one of the many applicants who has the ability to step into this job.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
8. Neither the explorer nor his companions was ever seen again.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
TASK 8 (FC/ADVANCED)
TASK 9 (FC/ADVANCED)

TASK 10 (FC/ADVANCED)
TASK 11 (FC/ADVANCED)

TASK 12 (FC/ADVANCED)

TASK 13 (PROFICIENCY)
Fill in the blanks with the missing verbs, pay attention to the subject verb agreement.

1. The present study ………………….. the relationship between gender and learning strategy
preferences of Chinese senior high school students.
2. Analyses indicated that high school students under investigation …………. a variety of learning
strategies to study English at a medium to low frequency.
 3. Female students and at a greater frequency than male students …………. more learning strategies.
4. The findings of the study …………. some light on Chinese EFL teaching, learning and future
studies.
5. The importance of language learning strategies as key factors in the acquisition of English as a
second or foreign language ……… a topic that commanded the attention of researchers worldwide
(Green & Oxford, 1995).
6. Ever since the mid-1970s, numerous studies ……….. been conducted in this area.
7. The findings suggest that learning strategies ………….. an important role in the process of language
learning, and the appropriate use of learning strategies ……….. an indispensable factor determining
autonomous study effect.
8. How do we put it all together? ………….. there an optimum combination of language arts, personal
language use, language for a purpose, theatre arts, and language use beyond the classroom?
9. These questions ……….. answered by individual language teachers for their learners in the context
in which they teach.
10. Cultural expectations, goals, and styles of learning ………. but some of the ways in which learners
may differ one from another.
11. Numerous sociolinguistic issues …………. attention.
12. Variation in the speech community and its relationship to language change ……….. central to
sociolinguistic inquiry.
13. Sociolinguistic perspectives on variability and change …………. the folly of describing the
competence of a native speaker, let alone that of a non-native speaker, in terms of ‘‘mastery’’ or
‘‘command’’ of a system.
14. Studies using data of this sort ……………. various social variables. For example, if one ………… to
consider the role of age differences, pairs of different age levels could be involved.
15. Forced production data ……………. often used when studying second language pragmatic
behaviour.
16. The most common measure ……………… the discourse completion questionnaire.

Answers and Explanations

TASK 1

1. To take pay and then not to do work ………IS…………………..dishonest.

2. The cost of all these articles ……HAS……….……………… risen.
3. The jury ……HAS/HAVE BEEN/ WAS/WERE…………………….…divided in their opinions
4. That night every one of the boat's crew …………CAME……..….. down with fever.
5. One or the other of those fellows……………HAVE….…………stolen the watch.
6. The strain of all the difficulties and vexations and anxieties ……WAS………more than he could
bear.
7. No news ………IS………….… good news.
8. The accountant and the cashier ……………HAVE……..……absconded. (two separate definite
articles before the word ‘accountant’ and ‘cashier’ may suggest two different people - most likely
interpretation)
9. A good man and useful citizen……………HAS………..……. passed away. (one indefinite article
before the phrase ‘good man’ and an omitted indefinite article before ‘citizen’ suggest that we refer to one
and the same person)
10. The famous juggler and conjurer …FEELS/FELT/HAS FELT……….too unwell to perform. (one
definite article before the phrase ‘famous juggler’ and an omitted definite article before ‘conjurer’ suggest
that we are talking about one and the same person)
11. The Three Musketeers……………WAS……………..written by Dumas.
12. Each of the suspected men………HAS BEEN/ WAS………………….arrested.
13. The ebb and flow of the tides………HAVE…………………..explained by Newton.
14. Ninety rupees ………………IS…………….. too much for this bag.
15. The cow as well as the horse………STANDS/GRAZES……………….on grass.
16. Neither his father nor his mother…………IS………………..alive.
17. There ………………ARE/WERE……………. many objections to the plan.
18. Two-thirds of the city…………IS/WAS……………in ruins
19. The formation of paragraphs………IS………………………………..very important.
20. Man's happiness or misery ……………IS……………… in a great measure in his own hands.\

TASK 2
1. RESULT if ‘lack of sleep’ and ‘poor nutrition’ are treated as two separate entities, but if we treat
them as two representatives of some bad habits –describe one group, the verb can be singular
RESULTS, but 80% of native speakers would treat them as two separate items and therefore use a
plural verb
2. PROVIDE
3. IS
4. CONTRIBUTES
5. ARE
6. RANKS
7. IS
8. COME
9. IS
10. INCREASE/CAUSE
11. AFFECTS
12. IS
13. WAS
14. WAS
15. IS/ARE (AS two separate items or as one referring to one and the same case)
16. IS
17. HELPS/HELP (depending on how you approach it)
18. EATS
19. IS
20. HAVE

TASK 3
1. The frogs at the cottage CROAK/ ARE CROAKING/ WERE CROAKING very loudly. (croak)
2. The horses GALLOP/ARE GALLOPING/ WERE GALOPING wildly across the field. (gallop)
3. The herd of horses IS/WAS GALLOPING wildly across the field. (gallop)
4. There HAVE been many hurricanes this year. (have)
5. The woman with all the cats SHOPS here regularly. (shop)
6. The mascot, as well as the hockey players,VOLUNTEERS/VOLUNTEERED/HAS
VOLUNTEERED at the school. (volunteer)
7. The hockey players and the mascot VOLUNTEER/VOLUNTEERED/HAVE VOLUNTEERED a at
the school. (volunteer)
8. The hockey players or the mascot VOLUNTEERS/VOLUNTEERED/HAS VOLUNTEERED at the
school. (volunteer)

TASK 4

1. Correct answer: attends. Singular subjects (“Jennifer”) take singular verbs. A singular noun
normally does not end in s/es but a singular verb does.
2. Correct answer: are. Compound subjects (“Emily and John”) require plural verbs.
 3. Correct answer: needs. When subjects are joined by or, look at the noun closest to the verb to
determine whether the verb should be singular or plural. “Susan” is singular and needs a singular
verb.
4. Correct answer: are. Interrupting phrases (“in that article”) do not affect subject-verb agreement.
5. Correct answer: is. Each and every are immediately followed by singular nouns. Even when there
are two or more nouns connected by and, the verb is singular.
6. Correct answer: is. A gerund used as a noun (“watching”) takes a singular verb.
7. Correct answer: is. When using expressions of quantity, the verb is usually determined by the noun
or pronoun that follows of. “Book” is singular and requires a singular verb.
8. Correct answer: are. This question follows the same rule as the previous question. However, this
time the noun following of (“books”) is plural and requires a plural verb.
9. Correct answer: is. Plural nouns that are preceded by one of, each of, and every one of take singular
verbs.
10. Correct answer: is AND are. Singular and plural verbs are both grammatically correct in this case.
Subjects preceded by none of used to be considered singular in formal English. However, it is now
acceptable to treat “none of” subjects as plural in informal speech and some types of formal writing.
11. Correct answer: were. A number of is an expression of quantity that is always followed by a plural
subject and plural verb. Don’t confuse this with the number of, which is a subject and is singular.
12. Correct answer: are. The subject comes after the “to be” verb when using there + be. The plural
“two cars” requires a plural verb.
13. Correct answer: isn’t. “Milk” is singular and takes a singular verb.
14. Correct answer: has been. The singular “construction” requires a singular verb.
15. Correct answer: is. Using there + be in a question reverses the word order so that
“there” follows “be.” “A line” is treated as a singular entity and requires a singular verb.
16. Correct answer: is. Some proper nouns (“Sears”) end in s/es even though they are singular.
17. Correct answer: begins. “News” is always singular.
18. Correct answer: was. Fields of study that end in ics (such as “economics”) are singular.
19. Correct answer: was. Some illnesses (“measles”) that end in s/es are singular.
20. Correct answer: is. Expressions of time, money and distance (“fifty miles”) usually take a singular
verb.
21. Correct answer: is. Mathematical expressions take singular verbs.
22. Correct answer: have arrived. A handful of English nouns are plural but do not end in s/es.
“Police” is one of these nouns.
23. Correct answer: is. Proper nouns that can refer to both a language and a nationality are singular
when they refer to the language.
24. Correct answer: are. However, they are considered plural when they identify nationality or
ethnicity.
25. Correct answer: have. Some adjectives can be used as plural nouns when they are preceded by the.
“The young” is such an example.

TASK 5
1. Annie and her brothers are at school.
2. Either my mother or my father is coming to the meeting.
3. The dog or the cats are outside.
4. Either my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.
5. George and Tamara don't want to see that movie.
6. Benito doesn't know the answer.
7. One of my sisters is going on a trip to France.
8. The man with all the birds lives on my street.
9. The movie, including all the previews, takes about two hours to watch.
10. The players, as well as the captain, want to win.
11. Either answer is acceptable.
12. Every one of those books is fiction.
13. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.
14. Is the news on at five or six?
15. Mathematics is John's favourite subject, while Civics is Andrea's favourite subject.
16. Eight dollars is the price of a movie these days.
17. Are the tweezers in this drawer?
18. Your pants are at the cleaner's.
19. There were fifteen candies in that bag. Now there is only one left!
20. The committee debates these questions carefully.
21. The committee members lead very different lives in private.
22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, greets the press cordially.
23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, are in this case.

TASK 6

FILLS
TASK 7

TASK 8

TASK 9
TASK 10

TASK 11

TASK 12

TASK 13

1. The present study investigates the relationship between gender and learning strategy preferences of
Chinese senior high school students.
2. Analyses indicated that high school students under investigation use a variety of learning strategies to
study English at a medium to low frequency.
3. Female students and at a greater frequency than male students use more learning strategies.
4. The findings of the study cast some light on Chinese EFL teaching, learning and future studies.
5. The importance of language learning strategies as key factors in the acquisition of English as a second or
foreign language is a topic that commanded the attention of researchers worldwide (Green & Oxford, 1995).
6. Ever since the mid-1970s, numerous studies have been conducted in this area.
7. The findings suggest that learning strategies play an important role in the process of language learning,
and the appropriate use of learning strategies is an indispensable factor determining autonomous study
effect.
8. How do we put it all together? Is there an optimum combination of language arts, personal language use,
language for a purpose, theatre arts, and language use beyond the classroom?
9. These questions are answered by individual language teachers for their learners in the context in which
they teach.
10. Cultural expectations, goals, and styles of learning are but some of the ways in which learners may
differ one from another.
11. Numerous sociolinguistic issues await attention.
12. Variation in the speech community and its relationship to language change are central to sociolinguistic
inquiry.
13. Sociolinguistic perspectives on variability and change highlight the folly of describing the competence
of a native speaker, let alone that of a non-native speaker, in terms of ‘‘mastery’’ or ‘‘command’’ of a
system.
14. Studies using data of this sort manipulate various social variables. For example, if one wants to
consider the role of age differences, pairs of different age levels could be involved.
15. Forced production data are often used when studying second language pragmatic behaviour.
16. The most common measure is the discourse completion questionnaire.