SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

INCORRECT [The committee are meeting again on Monday morning.] CORRECT The committee is meeting again on Monday morning... INCORRECT The police is currently investigating the situation

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

STRATEGIES FOB SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT ITEMS

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:

1 Is the noun a collective noun? Is it

considered a unit? If so, is the verb

singular?

INCORRECT [The committee are

meeting again on Monday morning.]

CORRECT The committee is meeting again on Monday morning

2 Is the noun a collective noun that refers to

plural? If so, is the verb plural?

INCORRECT The police is currently

investigating the situation.

CORRECTS The police are currently

investigating the situation.

3

3 is the noun ending in —s considered singular?

if so, is the verb singular?

INCORRECT [The news have not been good

lately.]

CORRECT The news has not been good lately

4 is there a phrase that separates

the subject from the verb? If so, have you found the verb? Have you found the subject of that verb? Do they

agree?

INCORRECT [The price of our

goods are lower than that of our

competitors.

CORRECT The price of our goods is lower than that of our competitors

1 We have (A) interviewed

many people who is (B)

(C) been advertising in the

trade newsletter that is (D) distributed so widely

Newsletter (n) a printed

report containing news of the activities of a club or

organization that is sent

regularly to all its members

To distribute sth (to / among

sb/sth) to give things to a large number of people; to share sth between a number of people:

Ex: The organization

distributed food to the

earthquake victims

2 My staff has (A) contacted

a group of doctors that are (B) involved in research and

development efforts that are

(C) so greatly needed by

children who suffer (D) from

this disease

To be/To get involved (in sth) taking part in sth; being part

of sth or connected with sth:

to be / become / get involved

in politics

Effort (to do sth) an attempt

to do sth especially when it is difficult to do:

a determined / real / special effort to make an effort

To suffer (from sth) | To suffer (for sth) to be badly affected

by a disease, pain, sadness, a

lack of sth, etc.:

Many companies are suffering from a shortage of skilled

staff

Disease (n) an illness affecting humans, animals or plants,

often caused by infection

3 Although mathematics was (A) never easy for him when

he were (B) younger, he’s glad

he has chosen (C) to take

some classes since the

university requires (D) him to

do so

4 The results of the research

is (A) considered satisfactory,

complaints about how long it has (C) taken to compile the data and about how much

money was (D) spent

Satisfactory (adj.) good

enough for a particular

purpose

SYN  acceptable:

a satisfactory explanation/ answer 

To compile to translate

instructions from one

computer language into

another so that a particular computer can understand

them

5 The personal computers

that were (A) ordered last

week have (B) already arrived and are (C) being installed by

the most training

6 The media have (A) been investigating facts that were (B) collected by an

astronomer who claims (C) that astrophysics are (D) full

of errorneous facts

The media [U+sing./pl v.]

the main ways that large numbers

of people receive information and entertainment, that is television,

radio, newspapers and the

Internet:

the news / broadcasting / national media

To investigate (v) to carefully examine the facts of a

situation, an event, a crime,

etc to find out the truth about

it or how it happened:

The FBI has been called in to investigate

Astronomer (n) a scientist who studies astronomy (the scientific study of the sun,

moon, stars, planets, etc.)

To claim to say that sth is true although it has not been

proved and other people may not believe it

Astrophysics (n) the scientific study of the physical and

chemical structure of the

stars, planets, etc

Erroneous (adj.) not correct; based on wrong information: erroneous conclusions/

assumptions

7 My family is (A) planning a visit to the United States,

which have (B) issued them

visas that are (C) good for six

end of the year

To issue sth (to sb) | To issue sb with sth [often passive]

To give sth to sb, especially

officially:

To issue passports/visas/tickets

Ex: New members will be

issued with a temporary

identity card

To expire (of a document, an

longer valid because the

period of time for which it

could be used has ended

SYN  run out:

Ex: When does your driving licence expire?

8 There’s (A) at least a

couple of good reasons that

explain (B) why most cactuses have (C) evolved with large

daggers

9 Men-of-war is (A) a form of

that are (B) capable of doing

serious harm to swimmers

who aren’t (C) taken to a

(D) get medical help quickly

Man-of-war (n) (pl

men-of-war) Portuguese

a sea creature similar to a

jellyfish, with long tentacles

that can give a poisonous sting

Jellyfish (n) (pl Jellyfish) a

sea creature with a body like

jelly and long thin parts called tentacles that can give a sharp sting

Poisonous (adj.) causing death

or illness if swallowed or

absorbed into the body

SYN  Toxic:

poisonous chemicals / plants

Capable of sth /of doing sth

Having the ability or qualities necessary for doing sth:

I’m perfectly capable of doing

it myself, thank you

Harm (n) damage or injury that is caused by a person or

an event:

Ex: He would never frighten anyone or cause them any

harm

10 The government is (A)

to remote areas to look into

cooperative farming

claims (B) have (C) greatly

improved their (D) crop

yields

Agronomist (n) a scientist who studies the relationship

between crops and the

environment

Peasant (n) (especially in the past, or in poorer countries) a farmer who owns or rents a

small piece of land:

Ex: peasant farmers

Crop yield (n) the total

amount of crops, profits, etc that are produced:

Ex: a high crop yield

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