8

DEVELOPING SKILLS Set B
Unit 8 Agreement Grammar & Usage
Grammar & Usage

Unit 8 Agreement
Introduction
8.1 Singular verbs are used in the following
circumstances:
8.2 Plural verbs are used with:
8.3 Either singular or plural verbs are used:
8.4 Collective nouns
8.5 Verbs in relative clauses
Grammar Practice
Part A Part B Part C
Language Practice
Part A Part B
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1
All verbs except the modal verbs (can, may, must,

should, etc.) must agree with their subjects in person and
number.
He is a well-educated young man.
The liquid in these bottles is mineral water.
They are well-mannered people.
The bottles in the fridge are empty.
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8.1 Singular verbs are used in the following

circumstances:
• with a single subject
When two subjects joined by and express one idea or

specify the same person or thing, the verb is singular. Two
separate subjects take a plural verb.
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The famous composer and singer is in Hong

Kong. (= one person)
Compare: The famous composer and the singer
are in Hong Kong now. (= two different
people)
Spaghetti and meatballs is my favourite dish. (= one

dish)
Compare: Fish and chicken are my two favourite
foods. (= two different foods)
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• with many a and more than one + singular noun

Many a celebrity was present at the opening
ceremony.
Compare: Many celebrities were present.
More than one person was involved in the

scandal.
Compare: Two or more people were involved.
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• with words that measure money, weight, time,

volume or distance
After words denoting weight, an amount of money, a
specific period of time or other measurements such as
volume or distance.
Five years is a long time to wait.

Ten tonnes is a heavy load.
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• with nouns that end in -s

After a singular noun that ends in -s such as apparatus, crisis,
measles, mumps, news, summons, whereabouts, etc.
The news was shocking to hear.

Measles is a highly contagious illness.
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• with some uncountable nouns

A singular verb is usually used after the following
uncountable nouns: mathematics, physics, politics, civics,
athletics, gymnastics, etc.
Mathematics is his best subject.
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• with a phrase or clause as subject

When an infinitive, a gerund phrase or a noun clause is the
subject of the sentence.
To admit one’s mistakes requires courage.

Collecting stamps is her favourite hobby.
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8.2 Plural verbs are used with:
group nouns
After the collective nouns people, police, public, etc.
The public have been warned of the danger of

smoking.
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the + adjective
When the + adjective is used to represent a group of people.
The rich are growing richer and the poor are
becoming poorer.
The uneducated are facing a struggle to find jobs

in the years ahead.
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8.3 Either singular or plural verbs are used:
with quantities, fractions, percent, ‘most of’
We can use either a singular or plural verb after half of,

two-thirds of, the majority of, twenty percent of, all of, the
rest of, some of, a lot of, none of, etc. A countable subject
following these phrases (boxes, guests, etc.) typically takes
a plural verb, whereas subjects such as rice, juice and air
that must be measured in specific ways usually take a
singular verb.
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Most of the guests have left.
Two-thirds of the guests are still hungry.
Most of the rice is imported.
Two-thirds of the rice has spoiled.
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with none of
After none of + plural nouns, we commonly use a singular
verb. A plural verb is possible in informal situations.
None of my friends has/have met my girlfriend.
None of the students is/are able to answer that

question.
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with neither of
After neither of + plural nouns, we commonly use a
singular verb. A plural verb is possible in informal
situations.
Neither of the two children has/have a bicycle.
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with either … or, neither … nor and not only …

but also
When two subjects are joined by either ... or, neither ... nor
and not only ... but also, the verb agrees in number with the
second subject. Teacher’s notes
Either James or Peter was responsible for the

incident.
Neither the driver nor the passengers were
injured.
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with inclusive, exclusive and comparing phrases

When two subjects are joined by with, together with, along
with, as well as, including, in addition to, like/unlike, after,
and not, accompanied by, rather than, etc. the verb agrees
in number with the first subject.
The driver, as well as two passengers, was
injured in the accident.
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after nouns with the same form in the singular and

plural
We use either a singular or a plural verb after means, series,
species, aircraft, fish and deer depending on the number (these
nouns can be singular or plural).
A means to solve the problem has to be found.
Several different means to solve the problem
have been tried.
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8.4 Collective nouns

Collective nouns such as family, crew, staff, crowd, council,
committee, team, class, audience, jury, gang, etc. take a
singular verb when the collection is thought of as a single
unit, and a plural verb when the members of the unit are
thought of separately.
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His family is large. (= his one family)
His family are all non-smokers. (= all the people in

his family)
The team was successful in the competition. (= the

one team)
The team are trying to find their roles. (= the

members of the team)
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8.5 Verbs in relative clauses

The verb in relative clauses agree with the subject that who,
which or that refers to.
She is the only one of my friends who has joined
the police force.
The teachers who are marking exam scripts are in

the library.
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Grammar Practice
Some of the underlined verbs in the following sentences are
incorrect. Correct them. If the sentence is correct, put a ‘’
at the end of the sentence. The first two have been done for
you.
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1 Every firefighter is given special training for the job. 
is
2 All the furniture in this apartment are new.
has
3 A lot of money have been spent on the project.
is
4 It’s you, not Tom, who are to blame for what
happened.
5 Is using mobile phones hazardous to our health? 
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24
has
6 More than one gang member have been detained by
the police.
7 Some of the information you included was 

inaccurate.
is
8 Four kilometres are quite a long way to run.
is
9 Most of the rice we eat are imported.
has
10 Either my brother or my sister have borrowed my
dictionary.
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was
11 Each of the participants were given a certificate.
is
12 Raising children are not easy.
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Rewrite these sentences. Begin with the given words. The

first one has been done for you.
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27
1 Every flat in this building is furnished.
of the flats in this building are furnished.

All ____________________________________________
_______________________________________________
2 ‘All of you have got it wrong,’ said Mr Tan to his students.
‘None of you ___________________________________

has got it right ,’
said Mr Tan to his students.
Teacher’s notes
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3 These scissors are not sharp.
scissors is not sharp.

This pair of _____________________________________
_______________________________________________
4 All the people in the building have been evacuated.
in this building has been evacuated.

Everyone _______________________________________
_______________________________________________
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5 Everybody at the concert was impressed by the performance.
was impressed by the performance.

The audience ____________________________________
_______________________________________________
6 A lot of people have had that experience.
has had that experience.

Many a person ___________________________________
_______________________________________________
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7 A majority of students favour the proposal.
favour the proposal.

More than half of the students ______________________
_______________________________________________
8 John was there. His brother was there, too.
and his brother were there.

Both John ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
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Use am/are/is, was/were, have/has or do/does to complete

the following dialogues. The first one has been done for you.
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1 is
A: Who _________ the girl wearing glasses over there?
B: I have no idea. I’ve never seen her before.
2 A: I’d like to help Kevin, but I don’t know how.
is
B: A little encouragement _________ all he needs.
3 A: Excuse me, are there any cash machines nearby?
are
B: Sorry, there _________ none here.
Teacher’s notes
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4 A: Is your father a member of a political party?
does not interest him.

B: No, politics _________
5 A: Jacky hasn’t arrived yet.
has
B: Neither _________ my brother. I wonder what
is
_________ keeping them.
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6 A: They say the film has broken box-office records.
B: That doesn’t surprise me. There _________

was a long
queue of people waiting to buy tickets at the cinema
last night.
7 A: Did the ICAC make an arrest during last night’s raid?
were
B: Yes, a company director and a supervisor _________
arrested.
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8 A: We need two thousand dollars for the project.
is
B: Two thousand dollars _________ a lot of
money. How will we raise it?
9 A: What does the survey show?
are
B: More than half the respondents _________ against the
proposed increase.
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10 A: Was his mother present at his graduation?
were all there.

B: Yes, in fact his family _________
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Language Practice
Complete the following dialogue by selecting one suitable
word for each blank. The first one has been done for you.
Teacher’s notes
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Kelly A recent survey (1) that 41 percent of found

(1) ____________
Primary Six pupils in Hong Kong (2) wear

(2) ____________
glasses.
Mike No wonder two (3) optical shops have more

(3) ____________
just opened in the shopping centre

near my home. And it appears, judging
from the number of people who (4) visit
(4) ____________
them, that business is good.

How many people (5) interviewed in were
(5) ____________
the survey? P.69

42
Kelly Let me see ... 2,312 in all. The

survey also found that forty
percent of those who (6) from suffer
(6) ____________
shortsightedness found their

eyesight had deteriorated after
the summer break.
Mike Really? Do they know why?
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Kelly Longer hours in front of the TV

during the summer holidays (7) was
(7) ____________
blamed.
Mike That doesn’t (8) me! All my little surprise

(8) ____________
brother did during the holidays (9) was

(9) ____________
watch TV. Did the report make any

recommendations?
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Kelly Yes, that all pupils should have an

annual eyesight (10) . It (11) suggested test
(10) ____________
that eye health campaigns should be also

(11) ____________
discussed and launched as (12) as soon

(12) ____________
possible.
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45
Read the following article then complete the passage. Use

ONE word only for each blank. The first one has been done
for you.
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46
Anorexia is a complicated illness that makes people,

especially young women, stop eating. The exact
cause of the disorder is not yet known, but a number
of psychological, biological, personal and cultural
factors that may contribute to its development have
been identified. These include anxiety, low self-esteem,
perfectionism, the desire for approval, images in the
media and peer pressure.
This is the story of one girl who suffered from anorexia.
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Both Anita’s parents were successful professionals but their

careers meant they had little time for her. An average
student at school, Anita was anxious for her parents’
attention. Then, one day, they happened to remark on her
round face. Anita began to worry that she was getting fat
and that she was a disappointment to her parents. She began
to avoid eating food.
This went on unnoticed until one afternoon, Anita collapsed
at school. She was rushed to the hospital where she was
diagnosed as anorexic.
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Anita was lucky. Her doctor explained to Anita’s parents that

what Anita needed most to recover was their love and support.
Under the care of her doctor and with her parents’ support,
Anita slowly began to recover.
Now, two years later, Anita has recovered
from the damage that severe dieting causes,
and she counsels young people about the
dangers of anorexia.
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It (1) another ordinary day at school. Anita was was

(1) ____________
in class when she suddenly collapsed. She was

(2) to hospital where she was diagnosed as (2) taken/rushed
____________
anorexic.
Anorexia is a serious illness that makes people
stop (3) . There are several reasons why people, eating
(3) ____________
especially women, (4) from the disorder. In suffer
(4) ____________
Anita’s case, the problem began when her
parents (5) upon her round face. remarked
(5) ____________
PASSAGE P.70
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Anita, who was eager to (6) her parents’ get/gain

(6) ____________
attention, decided that she needed to (7) lose

(7) ____________
weight and started (8) . Her parents, who dieting

(8) ____________
worked long hours, were (9) of the changes unaware/

in their daughter until the incident at school. ignorant
(9) ____________
Anita was lucky. Her illness was (10) before detected/

the damage had become irreparable. treated
(10) ____________
PASSAGE P.70
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Under the care of her doctor and with her

parents’ support, Anita managed to (11) her regain
(11) ____________
health, but it took a long time for her body

to (12) from the damage that had been (13) to recover
(12) ____________
it. Spreading the message about the dangers done

(13) ____________
of anorexia (14) now Anita’s main concern. is

(14) ____________
She devotes her time to (15) young people, in counselling/

the hope that this will keep them from falling advising
(15) ____________
prey to the life-threatening disorder.
PASSAGE P.70
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DEVELOPING SKILLS Set B

Unit 8 Agreement Grammar & Usage

Grammar & Usage

All verbs except the modal verbs (can, may, must,

He is a well-educated young man.

The liquid in these bottles is mineral water.

They are well-mannered people.

The bottles in the fridge are empty.

8.1 Singular verbs are used in the following

• with a single subject

When two subjects joined by and express one idea or

The famous composer and singer is in Hong

Spaghetti and meatballs is my favourite dish. (= one

• with many a and more than one + singular noun

More than one person was involved in the

• with words that measure money, weight, time,

Five years is a long time to wait.

• with nouns that end in -s

The news was shocking to hear.

• with some uncountable nouns

Mathematics is his best subject.

• with a phrase or clause as subject

To admit one’s mistakes requires courage.

8.2 Plural verbs are used with:

After the collective nouns people, police, public, etc.

The public have been warned of the danger of

The uneducated are facing a struggle to find jobs

8.3 Either singular or plural verbs are used:

with quantities, fractions, percent, ‘most of’

We can use either a singular or plural verb after half of,

Most of the guests have left.

Two-thirds of the guests are still hungry.

Most of the rice is imported.

Two-thirds of the rice has spoiled.

None of the students is/are able to answer that

with either … or, neither … nor and not only …

Either James or Peter was responsible for the

with inclusive, exclusive and comparing phrases

after nouns with the same form in the singular and

8.4 Collective nouns

His family is large. (= his one family)

His family are all non-smokers. (= all the people in

The team was successful in the competition. (= the

The team are trying to find their roles. (= the

8.5 Verbs in relative clauses

The teachers who are marking exam scripts are in

1 Every firefighter is given special training for the job. 

5 Is using mobile phones hazardous to our health? 

7 Some of the information you included was 

Rewrite these sentences. Begin with the given words. The

1 Every flat in this building is furnished.

of the flats in this building are furnished.

2 ‘All of you have got it wrong,’ said Mr Tan to his students.

‘None of you ___________________________________

3 These scissors are not sharp.

scissors is not sharp.

4 All the people in the building have been evacuated.

in this building has been evacuated.

5 Everybody at the concert was impressed by the performance.

was impressed by the performance.

6 A lot of people have had that experience.

has had that experience.

7 A majority of students favour the proposal.

favour the proposal.