Grammar
I. Agreement between Subject and
Verb
Read the following sentences and
notice the underlined parts.
1. Ever since we were born, we
have known only this.
2. The letters that are only in
father's name.
3. The housewife was
disappointed.
4. Your name is Satyanarayana
Murthy.
As you know, the underlined words
in the above sentences are verbs. In sentences 1 and 2, the verbs are in
plural. In sentences 3 and 4, the verbs are in singular. There must be a close
relation between the subject and the verb. The verb must agree to the number of
the subject. In other words we call it concord. The choice of a verb primarily
depends on the number of the subject and the time. Singular subjects are
followed by singular verbs and plural subjects are followed by plural verbs.
Use appropriate verb forms from
those given in brackets.
(i) The apples ________________ (are / is)
from Simla. The taste of them ______________ (are /is) very sweet. The habit of
eating apples _________ (make, makes) us healthy. Most of the rich ___________
(eat / eats) an apple a day. We don'tlike to eat an apple when the greater part
of it ______ (is / are) rotten.
(ii) A large number of people
___________ (has / have) attended the meeting. The number of people ___________
(is / are) increasing at an alarming pace. The headmaster along with the
members of the staff ____________ (has / have) attended it too. But neither the
English teacher nor his friends __________ (has / have) attended. Each of the speakers
___________ (was / were) given only a five minutes to speak. The way the speakers
_________ (has / have started their speech is really interesting. The essence of
all their speeches ___________ (is /are) the same. They ______________ (have / has)
spoken on national integration.
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