Worksheet - Agreement of Verb and Subject | English An Alien Hand Class 7 PDF Download

Present Tense

A verb must agree in number and person with its subject.
(a) When the subject is third person singular, most English verbs end in -s or -es but there is no -s or -es with third person plural.
He goes to school.
They go to school.

(b) A singular subject is sometimes mistaken as plural e.g. when (it starts with (one of, either, neither etc.). Remember that these must be taken as singular.
Either of you is wrong.
Neither of them works here.
One of the teachers teaches English.

(c) When a sentence begins with ‘there’ the verb agrees with the real subject that comes after the verb.
There comes John.
There are fifty students in my class.

(d) When the subject is plural but represents a single figure or quantity, it takes a singular verb.
A hundred kilometres is a long distance

Exercise - 1

Insert the correct form of the verbs in the blank spaces in the following sentences:
1. A good dictionary _______ a lot. (cost)
Ans. costs

2. These five chairs _______ one thousand rupees. (cost)
Ans. cost

3. Ten kilometres _______ a long distance to walk. (be)
Ans. is

4. Sita _______ next to my house. (live)
Ans. lives

5. Bread and butter _______ a wholesome food. (be)
Ans. is

Exercise - 2

Insert ‘is’ or ‘are’ in the following sentences:
1. There _______ two boys standing there.
Ans. are

2. There _______ many students in the school.
Ans. are

3. Today, there _______ many boys missing from the class.
Ans. are

4. If you need some money, there _______ some in my coat pocket.
Ans. is

5. There _______ sixteen players selected to tour Australia.
Ans. are

Exercise - 3

Insert the correct form of the present tense in the blank spaces. The verbs are in the brackets.
1. A new house _______ a lot of money. (cost)
Ans. costs

2. The new car _______ very fast. (run)
Ans. runs 

3. Most things _______ more than they did before. (cost)
Ans. cost

4. This aeroplane _______ quicker than sound. (fly)
Ans. flies

5. The lawn _______ beautiful in summer. (look)
Ans. looks

Exercise - 4

Rearrange the following into meaningful sentences:
1. All the pupils / English / in our school / learn
Ans. All the pupils in our school learn English.

2. The owner / lives / is / in a large house / and / very rich
Ans. The owner is very rich and lives in a large house.

3. Some people / as it / travelling / them sea-sick / dislike / makes / by sea
Ans. Some people dislike travelling by sea as it makes them sea-sick.

4. To walk / a long way / is / ten miles
Ans. Ten miles is a long way to walk.

5. The Rose / and / Crown / High Street / situated / is / in / the
Ans. The Rose and Crown is situated in the High Street.

Exercise - 5

I. The following passage has not been edited. There is a word missing in each line. Find the missing word and write it in your answer sheet along with one word that comes before ft and the one that comes after it.
Long ago, there a king called Midas. (a) _______he was very rich and a daughter called (b) _______marygold. Midas gold more than anything (c) _______else in the world. When he golden light (d) _______of the sun he wished he turn it into (e) _______
gold. Even the roses did not him because (f) _______they not made of gold. (g) _______
Ans.
(a) there was a
(b) and had a
(c) Midas loved gold
(d) he saw golden
(e) he could turn
(f) not attract him
(g) They were not

II. In the following examples, underline the simple subject and circle the correct verb.
(A) The causes of this horrible disease (are/is) poor diet and lack of exercise.
Ans. The causes of this horrible disease (are/is) poor diet and lack of exercise. “Of this horrible disease” is a prepositional phrase. Eliminate it and we are left with “The causes,” a plural noun. Now, would we say “The causes is” or “The causes are?”

(B) The noise of the fan’s screams (is / are) a problem at some football stadiums.
Ans. The noise of the fan’s screams (is/are) a problem at some football stadiums.
“Of the fan’s screams” is a prepositional phrase. When we eliminate it, we are left with “The noise,” a singular noun.

(C) The legacy of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (influences / influence) the NBA today.
Ans. The legacy of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (influences/influence) the NBA today. “Of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson” is a prepositional phrase. Eliminate and we are left with “The legacy,” a singular noun.

(D) The theory of physics (state / states) that all things are made of energy.
Ans. The theory of physics (state /states) that all things are made of energy. Once again, “of physics” is a prepositional phrase. Eliminate it and we have “The theory,” a singular noun.

(E) The malware on\ all the office computers (is / are) a danger to our security.
Ans. The malware on all the office computers (is/are) a danger to our security.
“On all the office computers” is a prepositional phrase. Eliminate it and we are left with “The malware,” a singular noun.

(F) There (is/are) five broken chairs in the office.
Ans. There (is/are) five broken chairs in the office.
In this example, the subject of the sentence follows the verb. Keep in mind that “There” is never the subject of a sentence. Because “Chairs” is plural, the verb I plural as well.

(G) Neither my mom nor my sisters (know/ knows) proper grammar
Ans. Neither my mom nor my sisters (know/knows) proper grammar. Whenever we use a “neither/nor” or an “either/or” construction, we always conjugate the verb based on the second noun, the noun that follows “or/nor.” In this sentence, sisters is plural, so the noun should be plural.

(H) The members of the committee (is/are) very esteemed in their respective fields.
Ans. The members of the committee (is/are) very esteemed in their respective fields.
“Of the committee” is a prepositional phrase. Eliminate it and we are left with “members,” a plural noun.

(I) The committee (meet/meets) in the fancy office building.
Ans. The committee (meet/meets) in the fancy office building.
“Committee” is a collective noun – a singular noun that consists of multiple people, places, or things. Other examples include “family,” “team,” “class,”“flock” -all nouns that consists of multiple things, but function singularly.

(J) Scissors (is/are) too dangerous to give to small children.
Ans. Scissors (is/are) too dangerous to give to small children. Scissors is a plural noun, so their corresponding verb should be plural as well.

(K) The pair of scissors (is/are) in the drawer.
Ans. The pair of scissors (is /are) in the drawer.
“Of scissors” is a prepositional phrase. Eliminate it and we are left with “the pair,” a singular noun.

(L) Every single one of your sweaters (is / are) too small for me to wear.
Ans. Every single one of your sweaters (is/are) too small for me to wear.
“Of your sweaters” is a prepositional phrase. Eliminate it and we are left with “Every single” is a modifier of “one,” so “one” is the simple subject

(M) Your sweaters (is / are) too small for me to wear.
Ans. Your sweaters (is/are) too small for me to wear. “Sweaters” is plural.

(N) The couch and the recliner I bought at Goodwill ( looks /look) a lot more expensive than they actually are.
Ans. The couch and the recliner I bought at Goodwill (looks/look) a lot more expensive than they actually are.
There are multiple subjects in this example – couch and recliner - that are connected by “and,” therefore the subject is plural.

(O) There (is/are) only one way I can answer your question: Yes, I will marry you.
Ans. There (is/are) only one way I can answer your question: Yes, I will marry you. “There” is never the subject of a sentence.

III. Review each sentence and look for errors in subject verb agreement. If there is an error, write the correct sentence in the space below the sentence.
(A) She walk to the market.
Ans. The verb “walk” should be the singular “walks” to match with the singular subject “she.”

(B) The cat meows when he is hungry.
Ans. The sentence is correct. The subject “cat” and the verb “meows” are both singular.

(C) My favorite book are Green Eggs and Ham.
Ans. Even though “Green Eggs” is plural, it is part of a book title. Since we are talking about one particular book, you need to use the singular verb “is” instead of the plural verb “are.”

(D) Ten minutes are enough time to get there.
Ans. When expressing measurements of time, the verb should be singular. Use “is” instead of “are.”

(E) The man and the woman were late for their appointment.
Ans. The sentence is correct. The two subjects are joined by “and,” so the verb “their” is correct since it is plural.

(F) All of them is going to the parade.
Ans. “Them” is a pronoun. The verb for pronouns should be plural. Use the plural verb “are” instead of “is.”

IV. Review each sentence and put the correct verb in the blank.
(A) John and Mary _____ knocking on the door.
Ans. There are two subjects, John and Mary, so the correct verb would be plural - “are”.

(B) Mary _____ late for school.
Ans. The subject, Mary, is singular, so the correct verb would be singular - “is”.

(C) Every man and woman _____ standing at attention.
Ans. The sentence starts with “Every” so the correct verb would be “is.”

(D) The group _____ dressed in red.
Ans. The subject “group” is a collective noun so the correct verb would be singular - “is.”

(E) The little boy, who was wearing jeans, _____ very stylish.
Ans. The subject “boy” is singular so the verb should be singular, even though “jeans” is plural. Use “is” instead of “are.”