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Exercise 3 - Advanced Subject Verb Agreement

1. The document discusses advanced cases of subject-verb agreement that often confuse English learners, such as singular subjects like "everyone", "nobody", and groups like "family" and "team". 2. It provides examples of subjects that can be either singular or plural depending on the specific words, such as "half of", "some", and "most". 3. There is also a debate about whether the word "data" is singular or plural in terms of subject-verb agreement.

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MA. CECILIA MASCARINAS
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1K views6 pages

Exercise 3 - Advanced Subject Verb Agreement

1. The document discusses advanced cases of subject-verb agreement that often confuse English learners, such as singular subjects like "everyone", "nobody", and groups like "family" and "team". 2. It provides examples of subjects that can be either singular or plural depending on the specific words, such as "half of", "some", and "most". 3. There is also a debate about whether the word "data" is singular or plural in terms of subject-verb agreement.

Uploaded by

MA. CECILIA MASCARINAS
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Advanced Subject Verb

Agreement + Exercises

Subjects and verbs need to agree!


Subject-verb agreement is one of the first things you learn in English class:
“My friend is Japanese.” (singular)
“My friends are Japanese.” (plural)
In this English lesson, you’re going to learn a few more advanced cases of subject-verb
agreement that confuse many learners.

Free Download: 500+ English Phrases


EVERYBODY / ANYBODY / SOMEBODY / NOBODY
EVERYONE / ANYONE / SOMEONE / NO ONE
These subjects are all singular!
“Everyone have problems.”
“Everyone has problems.”
“I don’t know if anybody is in the office right now.”
“How do you react if someone gives you a compliment?”
“Nobody likes the new English teacher.”
CLUB / TEAM / FAMILY / ARMY
These subjects are also singular, even though they are talking about a group of people.
“My family is visiting me for the holidays.”
“The basketball team has a new coach.”
Note: In British English “family” and “team” are often plural.
POLICE
Usually, “police” is plural:
“The police are investigating the murder.”
“Police have arrested three suspects.”
To talk about an individual member of the police, we can
say policeman or policewoman – or the gender-neutral term police officer.
PEOPLE / CHILDREN / MEN / WOMEN / MICE / FEET
These words are irregular plural nouns (nouns that are not formed by adding -s) and
they take the plural form of the verb:
“Our children are very well-behaved.”
“The people like the new president.”
“Men don’t usually enjoy shopping for clothes.”
“My feet are cold.”
BOTH OF / A FEW OF / MANY / SEVERAL
These words always take the plural form of the verb:
“Both of my brothers are older than me.”
“A few of these products have defects.”
“Many of the houses in this neighborhood don’t have garages.”
“Several of the students aren’t going to pass.”
HALF OF / A THIRD OF / 40% OF / SOME / MOST
These words can be singular OR plural depending on what follows them!
“Half of the students are from another country.”
“Half of the class is from another country.”
“Some of these facts are incorrect.”
“Some of this information is incorrect.”
“40% of the people don’t support the new law.”
“40% of the country doesn’t support the new law.”
IS “DATA” SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
There is a debate about the word “data”! Technically, data is plural (the singular form is
“datum”). However, in common usage, people often treat “data” like “information” – as
an uncountable noun, which takes the singular form. So both forms are correct: “The
data is accurate” and “The data are accurate.” You can read more about the “data
debate” here and here.

Quiz: Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement

Question 1
_______ anyone ________ a pencil I could borrow?

A Do / have
B Does / have
Question 2
No one _____ finished reading the book yet.

A has
B have
Question 3
Hurry up! Everyone ____ waiting for you to get here.

A are

B is
Question 4
No, my family ________ live nearby.

A doesn't
B don't
Question 5
Our swimming club ______ going to compete on Saturday.

A are

B is
Question 6
The police officer _____ talking to the parents of the missing child.

A is
B are
Question 7
The police _______ released any information about the case.

A hasn't
B haven't
Question 8
Most women _______ getting flowers.

A love
B loves
Question 9
Some of the people waiting in line ______ getting impatient.

A are

B is
Question 10
Both of you _______ the rules.

A know
B knows
Question 11
Several of my teeth ______ cavities.

A has

B have
Question 12
Most of this software _____ outdated.

A are
B is
Question 13
Some of the children _______ have cell phones.

A don't

B doesn't
Question 14
Almost all of the water _____ contaminated.

A is
B are
There are 14 questions to complete.

Quiz: Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement

Question 1
CORRECT
_______ anyone ________ a pencil I could borrow?

A Do / have
Does / have
Question 2
CORRECT
No one _____ finished reading the book yet.
has

B have
Question 3
CORRECT
Hurry up! Everyone ____ waiting for you to get here.

A are
is
Question 4
CORRECT
No, my family ________ live nearby.
doesn't

B don't
Question 5
WRONG
Our swimming club ______ going to compete on Saturday.
are
is
Question 6
CORRECT
The police officer _____ talking to the parents of the missing child.
is

B are
Question 7
WRONG
The police _______ released any information about the case.
hasn't
haven't
Question 8
CORRECT
Most women _______ getting flowers.
love

B loves
Question 9
CORRECT
Some of the people waiting in line ______ getting impatient.
are
B is
Question 10
CORRECT
Both of you _______ the rules.
know

B knows
Question 11
CORRECT
Several of my teeth ______ cavities.

A has
have
Question 12
WRONG
Most of this software _____ outdated.
are
is
Question 13
CORRECT
Some of the children _______ have cell phones.
don't

B doesn't
Question 14
CORRECT
Almost all of the water _____ contaminated.
is

B are
You have completed 14/14 questions .
Your score is 79%.

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