Concord Exercise
A. Write down the subject of the sentences below and indicate whether they take a singular or plural verb. E.g. The puppy is playful. ® puppy – subject – singular
1. The bicycles are blue.
2. My aunt is sick.
3. When we are old we will retire.
4. These cakes are stale.
5. Ben loves dancing.
6. A crowd of people was at the cinema.
7. The fish and the chips are on the table.
8. She has measles.
9. Neither the dog nor the cats love eating chocolate.
10. Neither the dog nor the cat loves eating chocolate.
B. Look at the subjects below and decide whether they will need a SINGULAR or PLURAL VERB, then supply the correct verb. The first one is done for you.
1. The bag of oranges ______ripe. Answer: SINGULAR - is
2. The bags of oranges ______ready for collection.
3. Several of us ______going to the shopping mall.
4. Neither the dog nor the cat (enjoy/enjoys) being thrown into the swimming pool.
5. Neither the dogs nor the cat (likes/like) the way Carmen plays the flute.
6. Everybody (know/knows) the answer to that question.
7. More than 5000 bags of flour (be) transported daily.
8. Fish and chips (be) usually liked by everybody.
9. The woman as well as her children (have) been here all day.
10. His song (have) a theme which (be) difficult to understand.
11. He says that the pair of trousers (be) not yet dry.
12. Which of the two pupils (be) the taller?
13. One of my many sisters usually (helps/helps) me.
14. Neither Peter nor his sister (be) in the classroom at present.
15. The committee (be) sharply divided on this issue.
C. Spot the mistakes in the following sentences and correct them. The first one was done for you.
The sacks of potatoes is lying by the roadside. ® More than one sack – PLURAL
- Correct sentence ® The sacks of potatoes are lying by the roadside.
1. Those oranges is sweet.
2. A list of names have been sent to you.
3. The cars is all new.
4. Many buses is owned by Golden Arrow.
5. The old woman live alone in that huge house.
6. The children plays outside.
7. Here comes Paticia and her sister.
8. Everyone in my class are coming to my birthday party.
9. Each of the pupils have a special talent.
10. Most of us is happy with the result.
Concord Exercise : Anwers
1. The bicycles are blue. ® bicycles - PLURAL
2. My aunt is sick. ® aunt - SINGULAR
3. When we are old we will retire. ® we - PLURAL
4. These cakes are stale. ® cakes - PLURAL
5. Ben loves dancing. ® Ben - SINGULAR
6. A crowd of people was at the cinema. ® crowd of people - SINGULAR
7. The fish and the chips are on the table. ® the fish, the chips - PLURAL
8. She has measles. ® she - SINGULAR
9. Neither the dog nor the cats love eating chocolate. ® dog, cats - PLURAL
10. Neither the dog nor the cat loves eating chocolate. ® dog, cat - SINGULAR
1. The bag of oranges ______ripe. Answer: SINGULAR – is
2. The bags of oranges are ready for collection.
3. Several of us are going to the shopping mall.
4. Neither the dog nor the cat (enjoy/enjoys) being thrown into the swimming pool.
5. Neither the dogs nor the cat (likes/like) the way Carmen plays the flute.
6. Everybody (know/knows) the answer to that question.
7. More than 5000 bags of flour (are) transported daily.
8. Fish and chips (is) usually liked by everybody.
9. The woman as well as her children (has) been here all day.
10. His song (has) a theme which (is) difficult to understand.
11. He says that the pair of trousers (is) not yet dry.
12. Which of the two pupils (is) the taller?
13. One of my many sisters usually (helps/helps) me.
14. Neither Peter nor his sister (is) in the classroom at present.
15. The committee (are) sharply divided on this issue.
1. Those oranges is sweet. ® More than one orange ® PLURAL
Those oranges are sweet.
2. A list of names have been sent to you. ® Only one list of names. ® SINGULAR
A list of names has been sent to you.
3. The cars is all new. ® More than one car. ® PLURAL
The cars are all new.
4. Many buses is owned by Golden Arrow. ® More than one bus ® PLURAL
Many buses are owned by Golden Arrow.
5. The old woman live alone in that huge house. ® Only one woman ® SINGULAR
The old woman lives alone in that huge house.
6. The children plays outside. ® More than one child ® PLURAL
The children play outside.
7. Here comes Paticia and her sister. ® Here come Patricia and her sister. ® PLURAL
8. Everyone in my class are coming to my birthday party. ® Everyone ® SINGULAR
Everyone in my class is coming to my birthday party.
9. Each of the pupils have a special talent. ® Each ® SINGULAR
Each of the pupils has a special talent.
10. Most of us is happy with the result. ® Most ® PLURAL
Most of us are happy with the result.