ENGLISH ONLINE - FCE - SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

Subject-Verb Agreement 1

Click the most suitable word or phrase in each sentence. ANSWERS

1) Athletics was | were my favourite activity at school. RULE#2

2) Pliers are | is a common hand tool with opposing jaws for cutting, bending and gripping. RULE#3

3) My family has | have owned this mansion for a long time. RULE#5

4) Physics have | has never been my favourite subject. RULE#2

5) The stairs leads | lead to the top of the Eiffel Tower. RULE#1

6) The police is | are investigating the crime. RULE#4

7) Measles are | is an infectious disease. RULE#2

8) The supplier may furnish the declaration at any time, even after the goods have | has been delivered. RULE#1

9) Where is | are my running shorts? RULE#3

10) The staff is | are annoyed about the changes. RULE#4

11) The government has | have been slow to react to the crisis. RULE#5

12) The good news are | is that next week will be fine and sunny. RULE#2

RULE#1	SOME NOUNS ARE PLURAL AND TAKE A PLURAL VERB	stairs, savings, earnings, belongings, clothes, congratulations, goods, outskirts, premises, riches, surroundings, thanks, particulars.
RULE#2	SOME NOUNS LOOK PLURAL WITH -S BUT THEY TAKE A SINGULAR VERB	SCIENCES: physics, mathematics, economics. DISEASES: mumps, measles, diabetes, rabies. ABSTRACT NOUNS: news, politics, ethics. SPORTS: athletics, gymnastics, aerobics.
RULE#3	WE USE A PLURAL NOUN FOR ONE THING THAT HAS TWO PARTS	TOOLS: scissors, pliers, pincers. GARMENTS: trousers, jeans, tights, shorts. INSTRUMENTS: compasses, binoculars.
RULE#4	THE FOLLOWING NOUNS HAVE A PLURAL VERB	staff, police, people.
RULE#5	SOME NOUNS CAN BE TREATED AS SINGULAR OR PLURAL	family, college, population, team, university, crowd, public, committee, audience. ORGANISATIONS: the Bank of Ireland, Microsoft, Google, Ford, IBM.

Subject-Verb Agreement 1