About this quiz
25 questions covering every section of the note on subject-verb agreement, including joined subjects, each and every, collective and uncountable nouns, special phrases, titles, amounts and common errors.
This Lok Sewa practice set has 25 multiple-choice questions (Subject: English · For: Kharidar, Nayab Subba, Section Officer · Level: Medium). Take the quiz above first; after that, use the study list below to revise every question with its correct answer and a short explanation.
Study list: all 25 questions with answers and explanations
Choose the sentence in which the subject and verb agree.
- A) The farmers grows rice.
- B) The farmer grow rice.
- C) The farmer grows rice. ✔
- D) The farmers is growing rice.
Why: A singular subject (the farmer) takes the singular verb grows; a plural subject would take grow.
Which of the following is correct?
- A) I is ready.
- B) I has finished.
- C) You was late.
- D) I am ready. ✔
Why: I and you never take the s/es form, so we say I have, not I has; with be the forms are I am, I was, you are and you were.
Fill in the blank: "Ram and Sita ___ cousins."
- A) are ✔
- B) is
- C) was
- D) has been
Why: Two subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb.
"The poet and singer ___ coming today." Which verb is correct if one person is meant?
- A) are
- B) is ✔
- C) were
- D) have
Why: When two nouns joined by and refer to one person, with the article used only once, the verb is singular.
Fill in the blank: "Neither the students nor the teacher ___ responsible."
- A) are
- B) were
- C) have been
- D) is ✔
Why: With neither ... nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject, which is the singular "the teacher".
Fill in the blank: "Either the teacher or the students ___ responsible."
- A) is
- B) are ✔
- C) was
- D) has been
Why: With either ... or, the verb agrees with the nearer subject, the plural "the students".
Fill in the blank: "The minister, as well as his secretaries, ___ present."
- A) was ✔
- B) were
- C) are
- D) have been
Why: As well as does not join subjects, so the verb agrees with the first subject, the singular "the minister".
Fill in the blank: "Each of the players ___ a number."
- A) have
- B) are having
- C) has ✔
- D) were having
Why: Each takes a singular verb, so has is correct.
Which sentence with "many a" is correct?
- A) Many a student have failed this paper.
- B) Many a students has failed this paper.
- C) Many a students have failed this paper.
- D) Many a student has failed this paper. ✔
Why: Many a is followed by a singular noun and a singular verb.
Fill in the blank: "Nobody ___ absent today."
- A) were
- B) was ✔
- C) are
- D) have been
Why: Indefinite pronouns such as nobody, everyone and someone take a singular verb.
Fill in the blank: "The committee ___ taken its decision."
- A) has ✔
- B) have
- C) are
- D) were
Why: A collective noun acting as one unit takes a singular verb; "its decision" also shows a single unit.
Which of these nouns always takes a plural verb?
- A) Team
- B) Family
- C) Cattle ✔
- D) Class
Why: Cattle, police and people are always plural; team, family and class can act as one unit.
Fill in the blank: "The police ___ searching for the thief."
- A) is
- B) was
- C) has been
- D) are ✔
Why: Police is always plural, so it takes are.
Which sentence with the noun "information" is correct?
- A) The informations are correct.
- B) The information is correct. ✔
- C) The information are correct.
- D) The informations is correct.
Why: Information is an uncountable noun with no plural form, and it takes a singular verb.
Fill in the blank: "Mathematics ___ my favourite subject."
- A) is ✔
- B) are
- C) were
- D) have been
Why: Subjects like mathematics, physics and economics end in s but take a singular verb.
Fill in the blank: "A pair of scissors ___ on the table."
- A) are
- B) were
- C) is ✔
- D) have been
Why: The subject is "a pair", which is singular, even though scissors alone takes a plural verb.
Fill in the blank: "There ___ many temples in Bhaktapur."
- A) is
- B) was
- C) has been
- D) are ✔
Why: In a "there is/are" sentence the verb agrees with the noun that follows, here the plural "temples".
Fill in the blank: "One of my friends ___ in Janakpur."
- A) live
- B) lives ✔
- C) are living
- D) have lived
Why: One of the + plural noun takes a singular verb, because the real subject is "one".
Which pair of sentences is correct?
- A) A number of tourists visits Pokhara. The number of tourists have increased.
- B) A number of tourists visit Pokhara. The number of tourists have increased.
- C) A number of tourists visits Pokhara. The number of tourists has increased.
- D) A number of tourists visit Pokhara. The number of tourists has increased. ✔
Why: A number of (meaning many) takes a plural verb; the number of (meaning the total) takes a singular verb.
Fill in the blank: "The price of vegetables ___ gone up."
- A) has ✔
- B) have
- C) are
- D) were
Why: Words between the subject and verb do not change agreement; the subject is price, which is singular.
Fill in the blank: "Muna Madan ___ a famous poem by Laxmi Prasad Devkota."
- A) are
- B) were
- C) is ✔
- D) have been
Why: The title of a book or poem is treated as singular.
Fill in the blank: "Ten thousand rupees ___ a big sum for a student."
- A) are
- B) is ✔
- C) were
- D) have been
Why: An amount of money seen as one total takes a singular verb.
Which is the correct form of "Neither Hari nor his brothers was there."?
- A) Neither Hari nor his brothers were there. ✔
- B) Neither Hari nor his brothers is there.
- C) Neither Hari or his brothers was there.
- D) Neither Hari nor his brother were there.
Why: The verb agrees with the nearer subject, brothers, which is plural, so were is needed.
Which is the correct form of "Sita, along with her friends, are going."?
- A) Sita, along with her friends, were going.
- B) Sita, along with her friends, have gone.
- C) Sita, along with her friends, go.
- D) Sita, along with her friends, is going. ✔
Why: With along with, the verb agrees with the first subject, the singular Sita.
Which sentence is free from error?
- A) He give me many advices.
- B) He gives me a lot of advice. ✔
- C) He give me a lot of advices.
- D) He gives me many advices.
Why: He needs gives, and advice is uncountable, so it has no plural form.