ARA CLASS – 1&2

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

ARTICLE

NOUN – COLLECTIVE / POSSESSIVE

SINGULAR SUBJECT – SINGULAR VERB

PLURAL SUBJECT – PLURAL VERB

WHAT’S THE SUBJECT?
What’s the Singular Subject?

The Noun or Pronoun that indicates only

one entity – thing, person, place, idea, etc.

IS THE SUBJECT SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
IS THE SUBJECT SINGULAR OR PLURAL?

Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional meal in Ireland.

The creator and producer provides the consumer.

My friend, philosopher and guide has arrived.

7. (A) My best friend /(B) and advisor /(C) have made /(D) this
suggestion.
8. (A) The famous poet /(B) and politician /(C) were felicitated /(D)
during the function.
9. (A) Neither the manager /(B) nor the accountant /(C) were able to
report /(D) on the company’s
progress.
10. (A) He feels that the scissors /(B) that he has bought /(C) is not very
sharp /(D) and cannot be used
IS THE SUBJECT SINGLAR OR PLURAL?
A lot of the pie has disappeared.
A lot of the pies have disappeared.
A third of the city is unemployed.
A third of the people are unemployed.
All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.
Some of the pie is missing.
Some of the pies are missing.
What is the Singular Verb?
Singular Verbs normally end with an ‘s’:

Is, plays, goes – Present Tense

Was – Past Tense

Has – Perfect Tense

IS THE VERB SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
IS THE VERB SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
 WHAT IS THE PLURAL VERB?

Are, play, go – Present Tense

Were - Past Tense (played, went – both Singular and Plural)

Have – Perfect Tense (had – both Singular and Plural)

Is the Subject Singular or Plural?
WHY COLLECTIVE NOUNS CAN BE
BOTH SINGULAR AND PLURAL?
Why some Collective Nouns can be used Singular as well as
Plural?

Collective Nouns: board, council, court, faculty, government, jury,

majority, panel, and staff

a. The faculty [as a singular entity] gratefully

acknowledges the guidance of the veteran scholar.

b. The faculty [individually] are of different minds on

the subject of pass-fail courses.
IS THE SUBJECT SINGULAR OR PLURAL? WHY?
• Gulliver's Travels
• The Three Musketeers
• The Times of India
• The United States of America
• The United Nations Organization
• The People’s Republic of China
Three miles is too far to walk.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.
Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
BUT
Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the floor.
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.
In addition to
Besides
Accompanied by
Together with
 Simple Past and Past Continuous

WHY THESE SUBJECTS ARE SINGULAR?

These Nouns (Subjects) are Singular

• Statistics
• Economics
• Physics
• Premises
• Precincts
• Environs
• Ashes
• The news from the front is bad.
• Measles is a dangerous disease for pregnant women.
BUT
• My assets were wiped out in the depression.
• The average worker's earnings have gone up dramatically.
• Our thanks go to the workers who supported the union.
1. Ten rupees seem too much for such a leather bag.
2. The media provides information which are relevant to the citizens of
the country.
3. Measles are a disease that generally afflict children living in tropical
climates.
4. The army have besieged the city and are poised to launch an all-out
attack at daybreak.
WHY ‘SCISSORS ‘ IS PLURAL?
• Scissors
• Trousers
• Spectacles
• Jeans
• Binoculars
• Pliers
• Forceps
• Tongues
These Collective Nouns are always Plural

People are
Police have
Cattle were
Peasantry cultivate
Gentry visit
Poultry are
Cavalry have
1. One of my student tells me that she has failed in English.
2. More leisure, as well as abundance of goods, are attainable through
automation.
3. It is perhaps not incorrect to say that youth are wasted on young
people.
4. He feels that the scissor that he has bought is not very sharp and
cannot be used for his tailoring
work.
 None

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English

Usage: "Clearly none has been both
singular and plural since Old English and
still is.
Indefinite Pronouns

Singular Plural Singular or Plural

another anybody, anyone, both all

each anything few any
either everybody, many more
much everyone, others most
neither everything several none
one nobody, no one, some
other nothing
somebody,
someone,
something
WHY THE FORMER IS SINGULAR AND LATTER PLURAL?
IDENTIFY THE SUBJET
WHAT’S THE SUBJECT
WHY IS THE SUBJECT SINGULAR ?
1. Some members of the tribe has been protesting the recent passage
of hunting laws applying to indigenous populations.
A) members of the tribe has been protesting
B) members of the tribe have been protesting
C) tribe members has been protesting
D) tribe members will have been protesting
E) members of the tribe, having protested
2. The president of Costa Rica, along with two vice presidents, are
elected for a four-year term by the people.
A) are elected for a four-year term by the people
B) are elected, by the people, for a four-year term
C) is elected for a four-year term by the people
D) are elected for four-year terms by the people
E) is elected for four-year terms by the people
3. Neither of our school’s students nominated for the national spelling bee were
able to win the competition.
A) Neither of our school’s students nominated for the national spelling bee were
B) Neither of our school’s students nominated for the national spelling bee was
C) Neither of the students from our school nominated for the national spelling
bee were
D) Neither of the students nominated for the national spelling bee from our
school were
E) Neither one of our school’s students who was nominated for the national
spelling bee was
4. Next to me on the bench sits two older women.
A) on the bench sits two older women
B) on the bench sit two older women
C) two older women sitting on the bench
D) sit on the bench two older women
E) two older women sits on the bench
5. We don’t yet know whom it will be, but eventually either my brother
or I are going to take over the family business.
A) either my brother or I are going to take over the family business
B) either my brother nor I are going to take over the family business
C) either my brother or I will be going to take over the family business
D) either my brother or I taking over the family business
E) either my brother or I am going to take over the family business
6. An analysis of sixteenth century probate inventories in the major English towns
show that even some artisans and yeomen owned silver spoons, cups or salt
cellars.
(a) show that even some artisans and yeomen owned silver spoons, cups or
(b) show that some artisans and yeomen even owned silver spoons, cups or
(c) show that even some artisans and yeomen owned silver spoons, cups and
(d) shows that some artisans and yeomen owned even silver spoons, cups and
(e) shows that even some artisans and yeomen owned silver spoons, cups or
7. If the engineering feats of that early decade remains impressive – boring a mile-
long tunnel through a solid mountain, and turning the eastward flow of two rivers
westward – the arduous conditions in which
the engineers worked are no less remarkable.
(a) If the engineering feats of that early decade remains impressive – boring
(b) If the engineering feats of that early decade remains impressive – such as the
boring of
(c) Although the engineering feats of that early decade remains impressive – boring
(d) If the feats of engineering in that early decade remains impressive – boring
(e) If the engineering feats of that early decade remain impressive – boring
8. Everybody at the party love the chocolate cake Shelley made.
A) Everybody at the party love the chocolate cake Shelley made.
B) Everybody at the party loving the chocolate cake Shelley made.
C) Everybody at the party loves the chocolate cake Shelley made.
D) Everybody love the chocolate cake Shelley made at the party.
E) Everybody loves the chocolate cake Shelley made at the party.
9. The number of students chosen for the prestigious medical
internship have more than doubled in the past fifteen years.
A) have more than doubled
B) have been more than doubling
C) has more than doubled
D) has been more than doubling
E) has doubled even more
10. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which contains 120,000 objects from prehistoric times
through the Greco-Roman period, are home to one of the most impressive collections of
ancient Egyptian artefacts.
A) which contains 120,000 objects from prehistoric times through the Greco-Roman period, are
home to
B) which contain 120,000 objects from prehistoric times through the Greco-Roman period, are
home to
C) containing 120,000 objects from prehistoric times through the Greco-Roman period, are
home to
D) which is containing 120,000 objects from prehistoric times through the Greco-Roman
period, are home to
E) which contains 120,000 objects from prehistoric times through the Greco-Roman period, is
home to